Grief and Loss

Year 2020-2021

Title "It's Ok To Not Be OK": Virtual Support Group for Grief & Loss

Project type Clinical service

Role Group Facilitator

Organization NYC Employee Assistance Program, NYC Office of Labor Relations

Skills used Zoom, research, telehealth counseling, social media analysis

URL https://nyc.gov/eap

Description

In March 2020, I was tasked with developing and facilitating an open-ended weekly support group that ran for 18 months, offered to provide support for city employees and their family members who experienced loss. The group averaged between 6 and 10 attendees each week.

The project was developed on-the-fly with limited guidelines and precedent in a time of unprecedented emergency; previously the organization had not offered ongoing support groups, nor online services. The groups were a mix of open discussion and peer support. As a facilitator, I developed weekly themes and continually researched online and digital resources for grief support and collective mourning. I felt the need to help the group evolve beyond the needs of the short-term nature of the NYC EAP's services, while keeping it open to new members.

I also often had to provide technical guidance on various problems with Zoom to clients, many of whom were older, and many of whom would call into the meeting from their telephones. I regularly monitored social media (Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube) for new content related to grief and COVID-19 and updated participants on my findings. I became the content expert on grief at my organization and was regularly asked to consult with other colleagues. I advocated for the program to continue while the pandemic remained an emergency. When the program decided to discontinue online groups, I helped core members of this group develop a plan to transition to a self-managed, mutual aid support group.