Workshop Library Offers Unlimited Access to Grief Support
By Luke Schmaltz, VOICES Newsletter Editor
Preparing oneself to cope with grief is vastly overlooked in today’s world. When a loved one dies, many people find themselves ill-equipped to handle the many challenges that come with a devastating loss.
Recently, PSCP (Peer Support Community Partners) launched a comprehensive, educational resource for navigating loss. The Psychoeducational Workshop Series includes a library of 20 workshops which explore the many aspects of grief, the challenges people face when tragedy upends their lives, and innovative ways of coping with short- and long-term grief.
Peer-Led Support
Laura Vargas is SADOD’s Director of Outreach Programs and the host of the Psychoeducational Workshop Series. She offers insight into the purpose of the series, how the workshops are presented, and the unique benefits of subscribing. Recently, the series became available for purchase so that anyone can gain unlimited access to over 30 hours of original, deeply researched, peer-presented grief support content.
“As a peer led organization,” Vargas begins, “One of our priorities is listening to peer voices and doing what we can to implement what we learn from those interactions. That has always translated into meeting people where they are at and offering options, because everyone is so different in their grief experience; what they want, what they need, what is helpful to them, and what is not helpful to them.”
“These workshops were started with the intention of offering a complement or an alternative to existing grief support such as group meetings and one-on-one care. We see them as a different group setting option that is not a standard peer support group. To be clear, one is not better than the other. There is an important place for both.”
Interactive Support
“Some people want to leave a peer support group with something to focus on, something to do, some ‘homework’ to apply to their grief experience,” Vargas explains. “These workshops provide strategies to implement into your life to see if your grief experience changes. Some traditional peer grief support groups don’t offer that because many people aren’t looking for that. They are looking to be seen, heard, validated, and supported.”
“Workshop attendees are given coping tips and strategies to try out in their day-to-day lives,” Vargas continues. “We also talk about different topics related to losing a loved one to substance-related causes. For example, we recently held a workshop that focused on memorializing loved ones. We discussed scrapbooking and photography as a way of presenting a new set of activities to add to your coping toolkit.”
In-Depth Learning
“Education is the underlying focus of these workshops,” Vargas says. “Rather than being presented as formal education, the content is framed as psychoeducation on the grief experience. Since, as a society, we are not taught to talk about grief or trained in how to navigate it. When we are thrown into grief, it is usually sudden and unexpected, and we don’t have time to prepare for it. For many, it is a brand-new experience.”
“When some people are going through a heavy grief experience and it is not something they know much about, they can start to question themselves. They may wonder, ‘Am I going crazy? Am I doing things the wrong way? How am I supposed to grieve?’ The goal is to educate people on what grief is and to normalize and validate how it feels to grieve. We emphasize that, as long as you are not hurting yourself or anyone else, anything you are doing to process the experience is fair game.”
If you are having thoughts of hurting yourself or others, please note that professional support is available outside of PSCP. Anytime day or night, you can text 988 to contact your local mental health crisis line.
Workshop Format
“Glen Lord (PSCP Co-Founder and CEO) and I host each workshop, sometimes alongside a guest speaker,” Vargas says. “We present slides of the various components of the material so that people can follow along. We begin with introductions, then we cover the ground rules which are centered around respect and confidentiality.”
“When we get into the content, we strive to make it interactive and engaging for attendees. We provide space for people to share their thoughts and ask questions. We wrap up with information on upcoming workshops, provide links to the various support resources we offer, and end with a final question and answer segment.”
“Workshops are offered monthly and are then added to the library so that subscribers can access them at any time. The December Psychoeducational Workshop will be recorded and added to the library. This event will feature Guest Speaker Meghann Perry. It is titled Stories in Motion: Changing the Narrative of Grief. It is designed to be interactive and engaging to help people work through their stories of loss.”
Privacy and Convenience
“The great thing about this library of recordings is that the content can be consumed privately, at one’s own pace, without judgment or pressure,” Vargas concludes. “There is a safety in being able to watch these workshops on your own time. Someone might need support at 2:00 a.m. and have no one they can call at that time. In this instance, they can watch one of the recordings and hear people talk about the same circumstances they are currently experiencing.”
If you are interested in subscribing to the Psychoeducational Workshop Library, with unlimited access to all recordings, you can do so here.
If you are curious about Psychoeducational Workshops, you are invited to join a panel-based discussion on November 17, 2025. This event will focus on grieving ambiguous relationships which don’t traditionally get much attention and support from society. These can include exes, parental figures, sibling-like friends, and more.