Professional Training

The Grief Center provides training for our Bereavement Facilitator Volunteers and more. Mental Health Professionals, Educators, First Responders, Medical Professionals, Chaplains and Funeral Professionals and educators have all found this information helpful in their professional settings. The Bereavement Facilitator Trainings are accredited by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

CEU Certified! (13 and 7.5 credit options)

January 20th and 27th, 2024

There are 2 steps to register:

Step 1: Click HERE to register for our January 2024 training (training form coming soon!)

Step 2: Click the drop-down section below this section to make a payment with a card for your training once you’ve registered. You may also mail a check to our office: 4125 Carlisle Blvd NE, Albuquerque 87107.

This training was created for our mighty Volunteer Bereavement Facilitators but is also available to the public and is accredited by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The training is offered every year in January and August. With supervision and support, compassionate listeners from all walks of life serve as bereavement facilitators. Volunteer Support Group Facilitators are the backbone of our program. As one of our volunteers wrote, “This is the most rewarding thing I do.”

There are 2 options for CEU seekers while learning how to support bereaved youth:

OPTION 1: The Entire Training. Cost is $260 for CEU Seekers, or $45 for Bereavement Facilitators – which requires a time commitment to facilitating 2 groups per month from September – May (BOTH DAYS OF TRAINING, Day 2 is in-person only)

  • 13 CEUs (2 of which are Cultural CEUs) for the entire course which includes information specific to guiding principles at The Grief Center and is required for those who wish to facilitate grief support groups at the Center.
  • Role of the Support Group Facilitator
  • Communication Skills
  • Experiential Activities
  • Exploration of Personal Experience with Loss
  • Includes all topics listed under 7.5 CEU option as well.

OPTION 2: $150 for CEU-Seekers (JUST JANUARY 20TH, which will be offered virtually AND in person)

  • 7.5 CEUs (2 of which are Cultural CEUs) of core Childhood Bereavement Information
  • 4 Tasks of Grief
  • Support group activities that facilitate sharing (Kid Fun!)
  • Alumni Panel (hear what works and what doesn’t work from former GC families)
  • Cultural Panel
  • Self-Care

“The best education I’ve received in childhood bereavement has been through The Grief Center.” – LMSW in Albuquerque

Contact Us with questions.

1 Hour Presentation for school staff.

Schools are impacted by grief in many ways. What do you do when a student experiences the death of a family member, or a close friend or a classroom experiences the terminal illness or sudden death of a fellow student, or faculty member? The training includes:

  1. Understanding how children grieve differently than adults.
  2. Identifying some of the key differences between bereaved youth at different developmental stages; distinguishing between elementary, middle, and high school-aged students, to create effective interventions.
  3. Understanding our typical cultural responses to grief (i.e. fear of explicitly discussing the death and obscuring the facts with euphemisms, offering platitudes, ignoring the death) are not helpful. Learn how to replace typical responses with more helpful responses and compassionate companionship.
  4. Exploring ideas for supporting students immediately following a death and throughout the school year.

GC staff have resources and information to help schools address grief and loss and promote healing. Contact Us for pricing and information on how we can come speak to your school or organization. 

Click here for a “What to Say, What Not to Say to a Grieving Student” Handout

Vicarious Trauma: Working With a Traumatized Population

Since 2001, the staff and volunteers at the Grief Center have supported community members through their grief journeys. Along the way, we have learned how important it is to tend to our own hearts, so we may be fully present to others.

This special, in-depth training (1-2 hours in length) can be customized for your organization, to address your staff’s needs.  Cost begins at $350.00 per hour of presentation time.

Contact Us for pricing and information on how we can come speak to your group or organization.

Our Notification of Death class is for Medical Professionals, First Responders and Chaplains who are on scene with families when a death has occurred and focuses on what to say when children are present to help them understand what has happened.

Contact Us for pricing and information on how we can come speak to your group or organization. 

This presentation dives into the 4 Tasks of Children’s Grief, and how children grieve differently than adults. This information is appropriate for adult family members and friends of bereaved youth, as well as professional working with them in a school, medical or clinical setting.

Contact Us for pricing and information on how we can come speak to your group or organization.