Welcome to this Heartfelt and Tender Space.
Next group is planned for Winter - Spring 2025.
Put your name on the wait list:
While you are waiting for the next group. you can access On_Demand Courses 24x7 and schedule a 1-on-1 session.
“I felt really heard for the first time. I’ve been to many support groups but this is the first time it felt like I wasn’t being judged.””
Find Your Community Here
with people who get you, see you, understand you, support you.
Supportive Group
Weekly meetings
with your cohort
Personalized Attention
1-on-1 check-ins
with Yasemin
Supportive Practices
with Instructions
Lifetime Access
Support Group and Healing Circle for Grieving Parents
Grief is often an isolating, painful and confusing process.
Losing a child can be even more so a tender and what seems to be an insurmountable state of being. Loosing a child is untimely. It is full of emotions that need space to be acknowledged with care, felt, shared, and healed through. You may need to be heard and seen at times, and find ways for respite, solace at other times. You may look to make meaning. You may need to source extra strength to continue parenting while we grieve, or attend to new family responsibilities, You may be lost in precious memories, or wondering about the lost chances for more. You may be consumed with their passing, and many difficult emotions. And so much more….
You are warmly welcome here.
This is an online supportive community for being with your grief and moving through a path of healing. Its intentions are to bear witness to grief, tend your grief in supportive community, share and learn together, and experience what feels possible at this time from Coping to Resilience, Growth and Transformation.
There is no time line for grief, or how to do grief right. How you grieve is sacred and yours to decide. You can also be in the company of other parents with similar experiences, in order for this space to offer you a supportive bond of humanity, and sharing and healing together. I welcome you with a tender heart and am here to answer any questions you may have as you make your decisions on what will support you the most.
Welcome to our online grief support group, where you'll find a safe space to navigate your healing journey. Be in a compassionate community while meeting the complexities of grief. Through expert guidance, you will gain tools and resources to cultivate mindfulness and embark on a path of healing.
Being in community of people who have similar experiences is different. It is supportive in ways that may not be possible by simply relying on family and friends. Those who have similar grief experiences get each other. Being in a grief support group with gentle and expert guidance can make a huge difference in what you get out of being in the group.
Mindful Grief Circles© is a uniquely designed support group, healing circle and community space, founded on grief research, time tested experience working with grieving individuals and communities, practices and activities supported by neuroscience. We focus on a healing and supportive community where sharing and embodied mind-heart reflections merge for the sacred purpose: to accompany grief in the most supportive way.
for your kind of grief
There is the general sense of grief. And there are the unique elements for different kinds of grief. We connect them in a way that will be meaningful for you.
Testimonials
What some of the past participants shared
What to Expect:
All Rights Reserved ©2014
Being provided for information purposes to help parents in their personal decisions of participation. Duplication in part or in whole is subject to copyright violation.
You will learn techniques for
o relaxation and calm
o working with difficult emotions
o fostering supportive communications for your needs
o grief sensitive meditations
You will have the Opportunities to Participate in Activities*:
o Sharing in a safe space
o Guided meditations and mind-body-heart awareness practices
o Reflecting
o Journaling
o Mindful movement
*as much or as little as you choose
In Between the Live Meetings:
o You will have access to recorded guided meditations and reflective exercises.
You will decide on how much to practice.
o You can have direct access to your grief guide, circle keeper, and facilitator.
Your registration includes
o 12 weekly meeting program, start to finish,
o 2 private consulting sessions, and
o Lifetime access to carefully curated and supportive meditations with instructions that also guide how to be with the challenges of daily living with grief.
FORMAT
The support group gatherings take place Live Online.
Technical support can be provided to help you familiarize with the Zoom platform prior to our first session.
Benefits and Support of Being in this Community
o APPROACH: We bring intention and attention to focusing on the suffering and also the hopes and contributions towards healing as a community.
o GOALS and INTENTIONS: During our time together, we bring up the personal and collective grief that we are experiencing freely. We do this in an open, respectful, loving and kind setting.
o METHODS: Include but not limited to working with grief through contemplative, mindful and compassionate approaches.
o OPPORTUNITIES for: inquiring about topics around grief and loss that are not always possible in your daily interactions with others
o DEEP DIVE: into understanding the nature of (your) grief in grief and trauma sensitive ways.
o BE HEARD AND SEEN as you need: inviting in and giving space to voices, including yours, in the grief circle/support group to be heard.
o CONNECT: making connections with each other. Some of our group members become lifelong friends.
o SUPPORT: supporting and holding space for each other.
Additional Benefits: Personalized Grief Guidance:
o When you sign up for the support group, you will also become eligible to receive more 1-on-1 grief guidance sessions, at 25% discount.
You can schedule the sessions at any time. If you decide on 3 sessions, my recommendation is to split three sessions as follows: prior to start of the support group sessions. mid-way during the support group, and after the support group ends.
This is your choice and you can sign up any time.
Who can join? “Is this for me?”
o All bereaved parents, and close family members that the parents invite, experiencing grief and loss are welcome to the support groups and grief circles.
o All beliefs are welcome. We welcome all points of views, respectfully.
o No prior experience with mindfulness is required.
o Minimum age requirement is 17 in the group. *
*Supporting grieving children in developmentally and age appropriate ways as parents grieve while parenting comes up and is included. You may also receive recommendations for grief support organizations for the children under your care.
What if you wish to share this with your organization or community?
A support group can be created only for the members of your organization or community. Many non-profits, for example those serving a particular illness, or particular group of bereaved members, choose to start a new Grief Circle with me for their group. Please scroll to the bottom of this page to fill out your request form to start discussing together how best to support your community.
The support group gatherings take place Live Online.
Your host and guide
Yasemin Isler is circle keeper, grief guide, certified integrative thanatologist and end-of-life doula, full time core faculty in Lesley University’s Mindfulness Studies graduate program, senior teacher at Harvard Medical School Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, certified teacher in numerous mindfulness programs, mindfulness and meditation teacher trainer and mentor, personal life and transformation coach, hospice volunteer, speaker and writer. Her research and work are interdisciplinary including focus on grief, resilience, growth, transformation, and stress response.
A widow herself, she started her MCCG™ program in 2014 in response to the unaddressed needs of many griefs. She has since supported thousands of grieving individuals including parents, spouses, caregivers, those living with debilitating illnesses, and individuals and communities experiencing other adversities and losses.
She has supported grieving parents, including in traumatic circumstances.
A few more things about this program
Our grief circle is not a conventional support group or talk therapy session. We spend time equally on sharing what’s here, reflecting, inquiring together, turning inwardly, practicing to be in the present moment.
We start with the foundation that nobody is broken or needs fixing. We trust in the inner resources and wisdom to come through. We are here to support our grief, be open to healing and learning what needs to be learned, unique to each person.
We do not focus on giving advice, unless it is directly asked and is called for.
It is rooted in the MCCG program.
During these grief circle/virtual support group sessions, we balance sharing and learning new skills. The meetings are more informal and less structured than the MCCG courses. If you are interested in a structured course, please visit our MCCG course page. You can sign up for both to get different benefits and experiences.
All beliefs are welcome. We welcome all points of views, respectfully. No prior experience with mindfulness is required.
Not to be duplicated or copied in content or concept, in whole or part, without permission.
All Rights Reserved ©2014 -
“In the midst of my grief, I was held with grace, understanding and kindness. I could not recommend Yasemin enough.””
“It was a revelation to open up to more than where I was stuck. The practices were very supportive.””
“This is my journey. I will do it my way. But I am so grateful to have found a safe space to be who and what I am.””
“I feel hope that healing is possible. AND, I feel validated that I can have all the scary grief feelings.””
“A true gift.””
“I felt cared for.””
“It is not easy to accept these feelings, let alone share with friends or colleagues. I needed this to be whole again. I am learning to ‘befriend’ my grief.””
“I look forward to each meeting to connect back with my community.””
For your Community
Would you like a one-time or series of grief circles for your community or organization?
Schedule a support group for your community or organization:
Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.
Grief and Trauma informed - Grief and Trauma Sensitive - Grief and Trauma Aware