Tend to your grief work with Bereavement Companion Laurie Clark

Bereavement Companionship and Somatic Grief Work in a Fast-Paced World

In today’s fast-paced world, grief is often rushed, minimized, or expected to “resolve” quickly. For those experiencing loss, finding space for balance, regulation, and healing can feel overwhelming. Increasingly, people are turning to bereavement companionship and somatic grief work—approaches that honor the emotional, physical, and relational dimensions of grief. With the rise of online platforms, this kind of support is now more accessible than ever.

This article explores how online bereavement companionship and somatic grief programs can support healing, offering practical insights to help you begin or deepen your grief journey.

Understanding Bereavement Companionship and Somatic Grief Work

Bereavement companionship and somatic grief work focus on walking alongside grief rather than fixing it. These approaches recognize that grief lives not only in thoughts and emotions, but also in the body and nervous system.

Rather than treating grief as a problem to overcome, these programs emphasize presence, safety, and compassionate witnessing—supporting the whole person: body, mind, and spirit.

Common components of online bereavement and somatic grief programs include:

• Grief companionship: Non-judgmental, relational support that honors each person’s unique grief experience

• Somatic practices: Gentle body-based techniques to release stored grief, tension, and trauma

• Mindfulness and nervous system regulation: Practices that help create safety and stability during intense emotions

• Ritual and meaning-making: Personal or guided rituals that honor loss and continuing bonds

• Psychoeducation about grief: Understanding grief as a natural, non-linear process

• Reflective practices: Journaling, guided inquiry, and creative expression

Through these practices, participants often experience increased self-compassion, emotional regulation, and a deeper sense of connection to themselves and others.

Benefits of Online Bereavement and Somatic Grief Programs

Online programs offer unique advantages for those navigating loss:

• Accessibility: Support is available regardless of location or mobility

• Flexibility: Engage at your own pace and in your own space

• Privacy and safety: Grieve without pressure to perform or explain

• Continuity of support: Ongoing companionship beyond a single session

• Community connection: Shared spaces with others who understand grief

• Trauma-informed care: Many programs emphasize nervous system safety

For individuals experiencing loss—whether recent or long past—online bereavement programs can provide consistent, compassionate support without the urgency or clinical framing that traditional models may impose.

Professional Pathways in Bereavement and Somatic Grief Work

For those called to support others through grief, there are meaningful professional pathways within this field. While financial compensation varies, many practitioners combine relational depth with sustainable practice models.

Common roles include:

• Bereavement Companion or Grief Guide

  Offers non-clinical, presence-based support to individuals or groups experiencing loss

• Somatic Grief Practitioner

  Specializes in body-based approaches to grief, trauma, and nervous system regulation

  
  

  Bereavement Educator

  Facilitates workshops, courses, or online programs centered on grief literacy

Many practitioners offer online sessions, group programs, and educational resources, allowing them to reach wider communities while maintaining depth and integrity.

How to Choose the Right Bereavement or Somatic Grief Program

Choosing grief support is a deeply personal decision. Consider the following when selecting a program:

• Clarify your needs: Are you seeking companionship, body-based support, education, or community?

• Look for trauma-informed facilitation: Grief-sensitive pacing and consent-based practices are essential

• Check training and lived experience: Both professional training and personal grief experience matter

• Assess the container: Small groups, one-on-one support, or self-paced learning may feel different

• Honor resonance: Trust how your body responds when reading about or meeting the facilitator

Many programs offer introductory sessions or consultations—use these to sense whether the space feels safe and supportive.

Practical Ways to Support Yourself in Online Grief Work

To gently support your grief journey, consider these practices:

• Create a quiet, comfortable space for sessions

• Move at your own pace- there is no timeline for grief

• Stay attuned to your body and take breaks as needed

• Keep a journal to notice emotional or somatic shifts

• Engage only as much as feels right -presence matters more than participation

• Allow grief to change over time without forcing meaning or closure

Somatic grief work is not about progress or productivity—it is about listening, allowing, and honoring what arises.

Honoring Grief as a Path of Connection

Bereavement companionship and somatic grief work offer an alternative to grief models that prioritize “moving on.” These approaches invite us to slow down, to feel safely, and to remain connected to ourselves, to others, and to those we have lost.

Through online programs, this kind of care is now more accessible, compassionate, and adaptable than ever. Whether you are newly grieving or carrying long-held loss, support is available that honors your experience without trying to change it.

Grief is not something to fix it is something to be held. And you do not have to hold it alone.