Grief support and training for bereaved people and professionals
Heather Stang is the recipient of the 2025 Association for Death Education and Counseling Clinical Practice Award and founder of the Mindfulness & Grief System. She offers compassionate care and practical tools to help build resilience, find meaning, and navigate life after loss.
Find the right support for where you are
Whether you’re navigating your own grief or guiding others through theirs, you’ll find resources here to help you carry loss with strength and compassion.
FOR GRIEVING INDIVIDUALS
- Online Grief Counseling
One-on-one sessions to process loss, find steady ground, and rebuild meaning. - Awaken Grief Support Course & Community
An online membership with weekly live sessions, guided practices, and a compassionate community so you don’t have to grieve alone. - Relationship & Non-Death Loss Coaching
Support to help you heal and rebuild after divorce, break-ups, estrangement, or other life changes that shake your sense of self.
FOR GRIEF PROFESSIONALS
- Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification
A 12-week program blending mindfulness, trauma-informed care, and practical tools so you can support clients with confidence. - Keynotes and Professional Training Events
Inspiring and evidence-based presentations to bring grief literacy and resilience practices to your professional or bereaved audience. - Introduction to Mindfulness & Grief for Professionals
Start with practical mindfulness exercises designed for grief counselors and caregivers.
Grief is personal. So is the way I support it.
I know grief from both sides—my own losses and two decades of walking alongside others through theirs. That lived experience is at the heart of my work.
As the creator of the Mindfulness & Grief System and recipient of the 2025 Association for Death Education and Counseling Clinical Practice Award, I blend mindfulness, compassion, and evidence-based tools to help people carry grief with steadiness and meaning.
I’ve written three books on grief (Navigating Loss, Living With Grief, and From Grief to Peace) and have taught mindfulness-based grief practices to thousands of individuals and professionals around the world.
Most of all, I see this as human-to-human care. You don’t need fixing. You need presence, understanding, and tools that help you find your own way forward. That’s the work I do—whether in one-on-one counseling, group programs, or professional training.
What my clients say
What was missing for me with other support group was tools and validation. Heather doesn't just lead/administer the group, she hears you, receives your pain in such a beautiful way. You know you have been heard by someone skillful in grief and others who know your pain all to well.
Karen
bereaved daughter
Those moments when I was just in angst or couldn’t sleep…I could turn to the processes in the modules or things we had shared on calls and find those moments of peace and eventually the moments linked into hours and days and weeks.
Sharon
bereaved spouse
The meditation practice has been crucial to helping me gain some level of calm and acceptance about life on life's terms. Heather's gentle presence is a weekly respite from the relentless pain of grief, and her wisdom about the grieving process helps to normalize all that we experience as we move through it.
S.A.
BEREAVED SIBLING
Books by Heather Stang
Accessible tools and reflections for living with loss, inspired by thanatology, mindfulness, and compassion.
LIVING WITH GRIEF
The complete 12-step Mindfulness & Grief System with practices and guidance for individuals navigating bereavement.
NAVIGATING LOSS
Support for non-death and disenfranchised grief, including divorce, estrangement, financial loss, and other life changes.
FROM GRIEF TO PEACE
A guided journal based on the 8-step Mindfulness & Grief System, with writing space to process emotions and build resilience.
Keynotes & Professional Training
Heather Stang is an award-winning grief counselor, author, and speaker who helps organizations, conferences, and communities approach grief with compassion and practical tools.
Popular topics include:
- Mindfulness & Self-Care for Grief – Based on Heather’s 12-step Mindfulness & Grief System, this session shares practical techniques to manage stress, calm the nervous system, and sustain resilience during loss.
- Compassionate Care for Professionals – Strategies for reducing burnout, practicing self-compassion, and staying grounded while supporting others.
- Meaning-Making & Post-Traumatic Growth – How to foster hope, identity shifts, and resilience in the aftermath of loss.
- Disenfranchised Grief & Non-Death Losses – Drawn from Heather’s book Navigating Loss, this session explores overlooked grief experiences such as divorce, estrangement, illness, and other life changes that reshape identity.
- Coping with Holiday Grief – Grounded in Heather’s lived experience of her uncle’s suicide just before the holidays, this talk offers compassionate practices for coping with anniversaries, seasonal stress, and cultural expectations after loss.
- Grief Literacy – A practical “Grief 101” designed for professionals in adjacent fields such as healthcare, legal, human resources, and insurance. This session builds understanding of how grief impacts clients, colleagues, and communities, and offers simple strategies to respond with compassion and confidence.
What the grief professionals say
When we are more firmly grounded in our bodies, as Heather Stang demonstrates, we are better able literally and metaphorically to find a new footing in the world, and to restore a life of meaning and coherence.
robert a neimeyer
Director, Portland Institute for Loss and Transition
Heather Stang offers those who are grieving a wise and practical guide. The stories, teachings and meditations in this book will help you find your own inner strength and awakening heart in the midst of great loss.
tara brach
Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
Heather Stang's Navigating Loss is a valued compass for navigating a wide range of life's losses. Grieving individuals will find it both informative and full of activities and exercises to assist in coping with grief. It is a wonderful resource for the bereaved.
Kenneth J Doka
Senior Vice-President, The Hospice Foundation of America
Support doesn’t always begin with a conversation.
Sometimes, it starts with a quiet moment and the right words.
If reaching out feels overwhelming, you can begin here—with gentle, practical articles that offer comfort, clarity, and guidance at your own pace. And when you’re ready, explore the services, programs, or books that can support you further.
My Most Popular Articles:
- Why Grief Causes Us To Lose Self-Confidence — And 10 Ways To Rebuild It
Discover how to regain your sense of self after loss. - Grief Journaling: Unlock Solace and Peace in Just a Few Minutes a Day
Learn how journaling can bring relief, insight, and healing. - 7 Steps to Honor Your Loved One on Their Death Anniversary
Create meaningful rituals to transform hard days into moments of connection. - Grief Insomnia: 8 Tips To Get More Sleep After Loss
Practical strategies to ease the restlessness that often follows bereavement.
Get mindful grief support you can actually use
Each week, I’ll send you practical tools, reflections, and encouragement rooted in mindfulness and real-world grief care—so you can navigate life after loss with more clarity and self-compassion.
Copyright 2025 Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT, All rights reserved.