Immediate Care: Resources for Crisis/Grief Support
Crisis & Immediate Support - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — 988lifeline.orgCall or text 988. Available 24 hours a day. Includes a dedicated option for veterans and first responders.
• Crisis Text Line — www.crisistextline.org Text HOME to 741741. Free, confidential crisis support via text, available 24/7.
Grief Organizations & Support Groups
General Bereavement
• The Dougy Center — www.dougy.org
National grief support for children, teens, young adults, and families. Includes a program finder to locate local support.
• What’s Your Grief — whatsyourgrief.com
A rich, accessible resource offering articles, online courses, and community forums on virtually every type of grief.
• GriefShare — www.griefshare.com
Faith-based grief support groups offered at thousands of locations nationwide. Also available online.
• HealGrief — healgrief.org
Online community and memorial space for those who have experienced any type of loss. Includes resources for young adults through the Actively Moving Forward program.
• National Alliance for Grieving Children — childrengrieve.org
Resources and a directory of grief support programs specifically for children and teens.
Child & Pregnancy Loss
• The Compassionate Friends — www.compassionatefriends.org
National volunteer support network for families following the death of a child at any age, from any cause. Local chapters throughout the U.S. and online communities.
• Bereaved Parents of the USA — www.bereavedparentsusa.org
Volunteer-run national support organization for parents, siblings, and grandparents after the death of a child.
• Share: Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support — www.nationalshare.org
Support, connection, and resources for parents experiencing pregnancy or infant loss.
• MISS Foundation — www.missfoundation.org
Support for families after the death of a child from any cause, including online forums and community resources.
• Forever Footprints — www.foreverfootprints.org
Direct services and remembrance resources for families following pregnancy and infant loss.
Suicide Loss
• Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors — allianceofhope.org
Online community, forums, and resources specifically for those who have lost someone to suicide. Peer-informed and compassionate.
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) — afsp.org
Resources for loss survivors, education, and advocacy. Includes the International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day network.
• Survivor Day — AFSP — afsp.org/find-a-survivors-of-suicide-loss-support-group
Directory of local and online support groups specifically for suicide loss survivors.
Pet Loss
• Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB) — www.aplb.org
Nonprofit staffed by trained counselors. Offers online chat support, memorial resources, and virtual support groups.
• Pet Loss Support Page — www.pet-loss.net
Hotlines, support groups, and resources for those grieving the death of a pet.
Specifically For Children & Families
• Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss — Pat Schwiebert & Chuck DeKlyen
A beautifully illustrated picture book for all ages about the deeply personal nature of grief. Widely used in grief support settings with children and families.
• Guiding Your Child Through Grief — Mary Ann & James P. Emswiler
A practical and compassionate guide for adults supporting grieving children through major loss.
Excellent Grief-Related Podcasts
• All There Is with Anderson Cooper — www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/all-there-is
A deeply personal exploration of grief through conversations with people who have experienced significant loss. Honest, warm, and accessible.
• Terrible, Thanks for Asking — www.ttfa.org
Nora McInerny’s podcast on hard things — grief, loss, and the complicated feelings people rarely say out loud. Useful for normalizing grief in all its forms.
• What’s Your Grief Podcast — whatsyourgrief.com/podcast
Practical and research-informed conversations about grief types, support strategies, and the experience of loss.
Addendum: Foundational Grief Theory for Students, Interns, and Practitioners
• Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief — Pauline Boss
The foundational text on losses that lack clarity or closure — estrangement, dementia, disappearance, and more. Essential for understanding a wide range of grief experiences.
• Disenfranchised Grief: New Directions, Challenges, and Strategies for Practice — Kenneth J. Doka (Ed.)
The definitive clinical resource on losses that are not socially recognized or supported. Covers pet loss, pregnancy loss, estrangement, and beyond.
• On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David Kessler
The classic framework, thoughtfully presented. Useful context for volunteers, with the understanding that grief rarely follows a neat sequence.
• Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief — Joanne Cacciatore
A deeply compassionate book on traumatic and catastrophic loss, written by a grief researcher who is also a bereaved parent. Addresses the grief that does not resolve.