Unexpected Paths to Healing: Creative Grief Resources You May Not Know

Feeling lost on who and where to turn to? Feeling isolated and lonely? Are you ready to begin processing your grief and healing? Last Monday, we shared some traditional resources such as - group therapy, children's camps, and family retreats. Today, we'd like to share some unconventional methods of coping with and working through grief. We understand that not everyone is comfortable with sitting amongst others to process their emotions, so we have complied a short list of artistic and solo ways to begin the path to healing. At Project 4031, we aim to provide our patients and their families holistic support beyond our program areas.

Grief Therapy

Beyond traditional talk therapy, specialized approaches like art and music therapy can provide unique avenues for personal expression and healing, particularly when words feel insufficient.

• Art Therapy by The Art Station: Therapists utilize different methods of treatment depending on client needs. Services provided include: assessments, individual, family, couples and group counseling, school-based groups, and community-based groups, applicable for people of all ages. Financial assistance may be provided based on availability.

• Southwestern Music Therapy: After assessing the strengths and needs of each client, the qualified music therapist provides the indicated treatment including creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music. Therapists are available to travel to where the client is the most comfortable.

Grief Podcasts 

For those who prefer to listen and learn, several podcasts offer insightful and comforting perspectives on grief. They provide a unique format for personal stories, expert advice, and a sense of connection. Some of the most well-known grief related podcasts include:

• Grief is the New Normal: Grief is the New Normal is the podcast that refuses to sugarcoat loss—because grief isn’t a problem to fix, it’s a reality to live with. Hosted by Dr. Heather Taylor, a licensed psychologist with over a decade of experience in grief and trauma, this show dives deep into the messy, nonlinear, and very real ways grief impacts our lives.

• Everything Happens: Bestseller author and Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. We especially recommend the following episodes: A Heart that Works is a Heart that Hurts - with Rob Delaney and Don’t Come Out Empty Handed – with Rabbi Steve Leder.

• Griefcast: Hosted by Cariad Lloyd, a British actress, comedian, and writer, Griefcast combines grief experiences with comedy. For each week, Cariad shares an hour-long conversation with a public figure discussing their grief journey, including many fellow comedians. With a delicate balance of grief and humor, the multiple award-winning podcast currently has 10 seasons with 190 episodes.

• All There Is: Led by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, this podcast invites a diverse array of guests to share their personal experiences with loss. Through open and heartfelt conversations, listeners gain different perspectives on death, the grieving process, and how individuals celebrate the life and memory of those they have lost. It's a space for honest dialogue about a universally challenging.

Project 4031's Grief Podcast Recommendations