Grief Support: Therapy Edition

Join us to hear grief professionals, thought leaders, and creatives cover different ways we can find support while we're grieving.
Special guest speakers: Ken Breniman, Paulina Isabel Almarosa, Naila Francis, and Rebecca Mullins
The word “therapy” tends to conjure a very specific image - a confessional setting with a stoic, note-taking stranger - when in reality, there’s a wide array of therapeutic practices we can use to manage our mental health and specifically our grief.
“Therapy” can refer to traditional psychotherapy, animal-assisted therapy, somatic experiencing therapy, behavioral therapy, movement therapy, and more. It can address almost anything you need it to: emotion regulation, healing from trauma, substance use, and improving communication.
Whether you’re a life-long therapy goer, have had less than ideal experiences in the past, or have never given it a try, you may find therapy to be indispensable. In this conversation, we'll talk with a range of practitioners who will speak to the ways therapeutic practices can support you through grief.
Our panel will collectively answer questions like:
What different kinds of therapeutic practices exist to help people navigate grief?
What is the value of seeking professional mental health support while grieving?
What are the different ways therapy can support people through grief?
How would you describe the relationship between mental health + grief?
Ken Breniman: Ken Breniman is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Registered Yoga Therapist and a Thanatologist with over fifteen years experience working with bereaved individuals & families. Ken was 18 when his mother died from cancer and he has dedicated his life to holding space for others when they are confronted with the often unwelcome yet inevitable teachings that death/loss bring to our life journeys. Ken has been offering Yoga for Grief workshops in the Bay Area for over ten years.
Naila Francis: Naila Francis is a writer, grief coach, death midwife and ordained interfaith minister. Naila holds space and offers rituals for people at many of life's sacred thresholds. From birth and marriage to death and other transitions, she brings a compassionate presence and open heart to all she does. For many years she worked as a journalist before finding her way to the work of companioning others through grief and dying after suffering several personal losses in her own life, including the death of her father.
Paulina Isabel Almarosa: Paulina Isabel Almarosa is a bilingual, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of California. She was born in Morelos, Mexico and lived most of her life undocumented, an experience that has greatly shaped and influenced her work as a mental health therapist. Paulina holds a B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior from UCI and a Master’s degree in Social Welfare from UCLA. She has over 10 years of experience in the mental health field. She has worked in schools, hospitals, jails and community mental health clinics serving a wide range of populations including children and families; residents of the community of Skid Row; incarcerated men and women; and end-of life patients in hospice. Paulina is the founder of Latinx Grief a space dedicated to demystifying and amplifying grief in the Latinx community through grief education and grief support services. She is also the founder of Counseling Contigo, a private practice that offers mental health therapy that is culturally attuned and rooted in honoring a person’s story. Paulina’s work is guided by her ancestors, chief among them her father Mateo who died of lung cancer in 2015. She is an avid writer, a mother and a creative who enjoys connecting with others through the use of humor, compassion and authenticity.
Rebecca Mullins: Rebecca Mullins founded Studio Saudade, SPC to provide grief and bereavement support through educational programs, consulting, design and creative services. Her company guides people through the process of telling their stories to honor and commemorate lives lived and loved ones lost. Rebecca is the program designer and a licensed facilitator for the studio’s Healing From Loss programs and workshops. In addition to 18 years in design and creative fields, Rebecca brings several years of professional experience and training in end of life, death, grief and loss support. After her own experiences with compounded loss, she saw a great need to advocate for others during life’s most vulnerable and challenging moments. Rebecca’s passion is to support clients navigate these waters with wisdom, love, laughter and meaning.
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