Frederick, MD — The Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) has named Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT, as the recipient of the 2025 Clinical Practice Award, honoring her outstanding contributions to the field of thanatology through innovative, evidence-informed grief support. The award was presented at ADEC’s annual conference in Albuquerque, NM by colleague and former professor Rebecca Morse.
Past recipients of ADEC’s Clinical Practice Award include many of the field’s most influential voices, such as Dr. J. William Worden, whose Four Tasks of Mourning remain foundational in grief counseling; Dr. Therese Rando, known for her work on anticipatory and complicated grief; Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement; and Dr. Robert A. Neimeyer, whose meaning reconstruction model has reshaped our understanding of grief adaptation. To be counted among such company highlights not only Stang’s clinical innovation, but her place in a legacy of advancing compassionate, evidence-based grief support.
Heather Stang is widely recognized for developing the Mindfulness & Grief System, an eight-step framework that integrates meditation, mindful movement, journaling, and self-compassion with foundational theories in thanatology. Her work has been instrumental in making complex grief models accessible to both professionals and the grieving public, particularly through her three published books: Living With Grief (formerly Mindfulness & Grief), From Grief to Peace, and Navigating Loss.
What distinguishes Stang’s clinical practice is her ability to synthesize emerging psychological research with embodied practices rooted in trauma-informed yoga therapy. Her approach is informed by the theoretical contributions of Dr. William Worden (Four Tasks of Mourning), Dr. Robert Neimeyer (meaning reconstruction), and Dr. Ken Doka (disenfranchised grief), alongside the lived experiences of the clients and communities she supports.
Stang’s most recent book, Navigating Loss, was inspired by her personal experiences with estrangement and divorce during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book provides practical tools for adapting to invisible and often disenfranchised grief through reflective prompts, mindfulness, and somatic self-care. Navigating Loss draws heavily from the groundbreaking scholarship of Dr. Darcy Harris on non-death loss, whose work helped Stang articulate the often-invisible grief experienced by those facing ambiguous and disenfranchised losses. Dr. Harris was also recognized this year with ADEC’s 2025 Scholarship Award, honoring her significant scholarly contributions to the field.
In addition to her writing and individual client work, Stang facilitates Awaken, an online mindfulness-based grief support program that includes weekly meditation and journaling sessions, yoga for grief, and themed classes. She also provides individual grief counseling, and professional training for hospice and palliative care providers, therapists, and other grief-adjacent professionals—with a focus on burnout prevention and trauma-sensitive care.
“ADEC has been my professional home for over a decade,” Stang said. “To receive this award from a community that has supported and shaped my work is an incredible honor. I’m especially grateful for the visionaries in this field who have shown me how to merge lived experience with practical, evidence-based wisdom.”
Heather Stang holds a Master’s in Thanatology from Hood College and is a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). Her clinical practice continues to evolve with a focus on integrating attachment theory and nervous system regulation to support both grieving individuals and the professionals who serve them.
PREVIOUS ADEC CLINICAL PRACTICE AWARD RECIPIENTS
1989 Joy Ufema
1990 J. Quint Benoliel
1991 Catherine Sanders
1992 Beverly Raphael
1993 J. William Worden
1994 John S. Stephenson
1995 Dana G. Cable
1996 Therese A. Rando
1997 Dame Cicely Saunders
1998 Stephen Fleming
1999 Helen Fitzgerald
2000 Patricia Murphy
2001 Sr. Francis Dominica
2003 Linda Goldman
2004 Nancy Boyd Webb
2005 Janice Winchester Nadeau
2006 Joan Monaghan
2007 Lula Moshoures Redmond
2008 Louis Gamino
2009 Robert A. Neimeyer
2011 Cecilia L. W. Chan
2013 Donna Schuurman
2015 M. Katherine Shear
2016 Bonnie Carroll
2017 Howard R. Winokeur
2018 Richard A. Pessagno
2019 Amy Rath
2020 Colleen Cherry
2024 Phyllis Kosminsky
2025 Darrell Owens and Heather Stang
