Grief doesn't follow a schedule or a checklist. This page is a starting point for finding support — professional, peer-based, and everything in between. There is no right way to grieve, and no timeline you're supposed to be on.

Grief counseling and therapy

Working with a grief therapist or counselor isn't reserved for people in crisis. If you're struggling — with the loss itself, with complicated feelings, with anxiety or depression in the aftermath — professional support is appropriate at any point.

Finding a grief therapist

  • Psychology Today's therapist finder (psychologytoday.com/us/therapists) — filter by "grief" specialty and insurance accepted
  • Open Path Collective (openpathcollective.org) — reduced-cost therapy for those who qualify
  • Your EAP — if your employer offers an Employee Assistance Program, it typically includes free therapy sessions
  • Your primary care doctor — can provide a referral and screen for complicated grief or depression

Complicated grief

Most grief, while painful, does not require clinical intervention. But some people experience prolonged, intense grief — sometimes called prolonged grief disorder or complicated grief — that significantly impairs functioning for months or years after a loss.

Signs that professional support is warranted: inability to accept the reality of the death, persistent difficulty engaging in daily life or relationships, intense longing that doesn't ease over time, or thoughts of self-harm. These are not signs of weakness. They're a signal that grief needs more support than time alone provides.

Support groups

Support groups — whether in-person or online — connect you with people who understand what you're going through in a way that friends and family sometimes can't. Many people find them invaluable at some point in their grief.

In-person

  • GriefShare (griefshare.org) — faith-based grief recovery program with locations nationwide
  • Hospice bereavement programs — if your loved one died under hospice care, most hospices offer free bereavement support to families for up to a year after the death
  • Hospital grief support — many hospitals offer grief support groups open to the community
  • Local funeral homes — some offer or can refer you to community grief groups

Online communities

  • r/grief on Reddit — large, active community; unmoderated but often genuinely supportive
  • The Grief Recovery Method (griefrecoverymethod.com) — structured program with online options
  • What's Your Grief (whatsyourgrief.com) — evidence-based grief education with a community component

Resources by type of loss

Loss of a spouse or partner

  • Modern Widows Club (modernwidowsclub.com) — community and resources for widows
  • Camp Widow (soaringspirits.org) — events and online community for widowed people of all ages

Loss of a parent

  • Motherless Daughters (hopeedelman.com) — resources for those who've lost their mother
  • The Dinner Party (thedinnerparty.org) — community for 20s–30s who've experienced significant loss

Loss of a child

  • The Compassionate Friends (compassionatefriends.org) — support for families after the death of a child, at any age
  • Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support (nationalshare.org) — for pregnancy and infant loss

Loss to suicide

  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (afsp.org) — survivor support resources and healing programs
  • Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors (allianceofhope.org) — online forum and resources

Children and grief

Children grieve differently than adults and at different developmental stages. They may seem fine, then circle back to grief unexpectedly. They need honest, age-appropriate information — not euphemisms — and permission to feel whatever they feel.

  • The Dougy Center (dougy.org) — grief support for children, teens, and young adults; also excellent parent resources
  • National Alliance for Grieving Children (childrengrieve.org) — directory of children's grief programs by state
  • KidsAid (kidsaid.com) — online community for grieving children and teens

If you're in crisis

If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm:

  • 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 (US)
  • Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741
  • Emergency services — call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room

Books worth reading

  • Option B — Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant. On resilience after loss.
  • The Year of Magical Thinking — Joan Didion. On grief after the sudden death of a spouse.
  • It's OK That You're Not OK — Megan Devine. A non-prescriptive, honest look at grief.
  • Bearing the Unbearable — Joanne Cacciatore. For those whose grief feels unsurvivable.
  • On Grief and Grieving — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler. The foundational text, updated.