The Season When We Start to Feel It
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER
This Is When We May Start to Feel It
It’s around Halloween that many of us begin to be aware of the holiday season we are heading into. In grief, it’s normal to be highly attuned to the coming of these days. The holidays often ignite and amplify the absences in our lives, and in this lead-up time, our grief can re-appear, or feel intense in surprising ways, seemingly preparing us to confront these absences over again.
We find ourselves both very aware of the approaching holiday season and, simultaneously, not wanting to acknowledge nor look at it. This duality is common for grievers—a desire to be able to engage in what is happening around us mixed with a sickening feeling of watching it all happen when escape feels most attractive.One thing we find ourselves sharing often is that this year doesn’t have to be the same. The places and traditions and food and color of the placemats and gift exchanges can all be thrown out the window. It’s okay. And just because things need to change this year, it doesn’t mean some of the traditions cannot return another year.
October Grief Check-In
With Katherine Hatch
Founder & Practice Lead | Grief & Trauma Therapist
One thing that I’m asking myself and others to consider before this Holiday season is upon us is to do a check in related to where we may be pushing past our grief, instead of pushing through it.
It can feel easier to be hard on ourselves and dismissive of our grief, rather than to meet it with compassion and curiosity. The latter requires our acknowledgement that our grief exists, and some days, it just feels too damn hard to do that. I get that.
AND, I do know that when we don’t push past our grief and instead, meet it with a certain amount of acknowledgement, and perhaps even a tinge of curiosity, we build a relationship with it. And in doing so, we invite less overwhelm and more attunement to how to care for ourselves within this sometimes brutal experience.
Are you pushing past or pushing through your grief today?
Looking to Feel Less Alone with Your Grief this Season?
We have some ideas:
If you are looking for steady company, The Continuum is an ongoing grief group with monthly live circles, a library of on-demand videos, and a community of people who understand. Learn more about The Continuum here.
Music makes everything better!! If you need a little background support as the evenings close in earlier, we've curated a series of Spotify playlists for different nervous system states. Try Grounding for heavy afternoons, or Morning Regulation to start the day softly. Listen to the Grounded Grief playlists here.
Join us In-Person for ThanksGrieving–Rituals and Resourcing for a Griefy Holiday Season on November 22nd in Portland from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM.
You can find more details and handy registration links below.With deep appreciation and solidarity,
Katherine & The Grounded Grief Team
P.S. New here? Welcome. We send only thoughtful emails with reflections on grief and upcoming community events. Subscribe here to stay grounded with us.
Learn more about our team and what keeps us grounded.
Don't Miss Our Upcoming Events!
MOVING GRIEF TOGETHER: An Outdoor Walking Grief Support Group
Fridays | Next One: TOMORROW, Friday, October 30th | 10-11 AM EDT
Meadowbrook Local Park, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Join Tisha Washington, MSW, LMSW on Fridays for gentle outdoor grief group walks with space for quiet, conversation, and connection.
GROUNDED GRIEF WALKS PDX
Every Other Tuesday | Next One: Tuesday, November 3rd | 12:30-1:30 pm PST
Portland, Oregon
Join the Grounded Grief Team for gentle outdoor grief group woods walks with space for quiet, conversation, and connection. Grief Counselors Katherine Hatch, MSW, LCSW, and Alyssa Rose, B.A., LMT, will be leading us on these walks.
THE PARENT CIRCLE: A Bi-Monthly Drop-In Support Space
Tuesday, November 10th | 5:30-6:30 PM PST
Virtual via Zoom
Lindsay Wooster-Halberg, MSW, LCSW creates a welcoming space for parents and caregivers who are supporting a grieving child. This group centers on your real, current questions—covering topics ranging from big emotions, grief and developmental milestones, challenging behaviors, rituals, schools, friendships, sibling dynamics and more.
HELD HOLDERS: A Grief Ritual Space for Therapists & Helping Professionals
Thursday, November 12th | 12:30-2 PM PST
Virtual via Zoom
Join Alyssa Rose for a confidential peer space created specifically for therapists, counselors, social workers, chaplains, doulas, and nurses—a room where you are not the holder, you are the held. Because you are also navigating losses, and the accumulated weight of bearing witness to the pain of others. Here, you will not run into clients, and you can set down the clinical frame entirely.
NEW! THANKSGRIEVING: Rituals and Resourcing for a Griefy Holiday Season
Sunday, November 22nd | 1:00-2:30 PM PST
Flanders House | Portland, Oregon
The holiday season often brings a pressure for forced merriment, making it difficult to hold space for what we’ve lost. Join Alyssa Rose | B.A., LMT, Grief & Trauma Counselor, Death Doula, and Ritual Facilitator for an in-person gathering designed to honor the deep connection between gratitude and grief. Together, we'll share a space for ritual and resourcing, acknowledge who isn't at the table, and connect with other grievers to help lighten the burden of the season.
HAPPY HOUR FOR SAD PEOPLE: An Unconventional Grief Circle
Monday, November 23rd | 7:00-8:30 PM PST
Rhinestone PDX | Portland, Oregon
Grounded Grief x Rhinestone PDX have turned "Happy Hour for Sad People" into a monthly residency. Join Juniper Wong, MSW, LICSW every fourth Monday of the month for the grief circle you didn't know you needed...yup, at a bar. Facilitated by licensed therapists, this unconventional space holds room for laughter AND tears, witness and reflection — because grief is less lonely when it's shared. Come as you are. Leave more human.
REWRITTEN: A Grief-Literate Community for Single and Solo Parents
Sunday, December 13th | 5:30-6:30 PM PST
Nalu Kava Tea House | NE Portland, OR
Grief doesn't end because parenthood continues. Facilitated by Alyssa Rose, B.A., LMT, Rewritten is a monthly, in-person gathering where single and solo parents come together to grieve honestly, parent fiercely, and reclaim authorship of their own story. Join us in creating a micro-village to grieve what has been lost and dream into what we long for.
Make Grief Less Lonely with The Continuum
We’re one month into The Continuum, and we’re loving it. It isn’t just a digital space or a static course. It’s structured belonging. Designed to be your steady ground, it brings the support, resources, and shared understanding of Grounded Grief into your everyday life. When you join, your monthly membership gives you a spacious, predictable rhythm of support:
EMBER (Live Community Circle): Our monthly 90-minute anchor for all types of loss. A gently guided, deeply human gathering to share or listen without the pressure to perform.
The Live Integration Hour: A monthly 60-minute facilitated drop-in to co-exist, be held, and simply pause alongside others.
The Members Library: An ever-growing, on-demand hub featuring 15-45 minute video workshops from our clinical team, guided journaling prompts, and somatic processing exercises.
The Gentle Touchpoint: A monthly prompt, short audio practice, or ritual delivered straight to your inbox to keep you connected between live gatherings.
You Are Welcome Here
If you feel weary and isolated in your grief, we hope you’ll give The Continuum a try. Come as you are, and come when it feels right. Whether you’re newly bereaved or years down the road, there is a place for you here.
Community Care: Supporting Grief Access
We are frequently asked by community members: "How can I help make grief support more accessible in our community?"
We want everyone to have access to high-quality grief therapy, but financial barriers often stand in the way. If you have the capacity to give and wish to help, you can purchase a Community Supporter Badge to pay it forward. Your purchase is used directly to help us increase sliding-scale slots for individual therapy and offer more low-cost, low-barrier grief workshops and groups.
Grounded Grief TherapyGRIEF IN GOOD HANDS Grief isn't meant to be navigated in isolation. We're building a space that honors the messy, non-linear, and beautifully human experience of loss and life. Thank you for being part of it.If this newsletter resonated with you, please forward it to a friend—we appreciate you helping make our community just a wee bit bigger. |
Grounded Grief West 328 NE Failing Street Portland, OR 97212 |
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