Dear Health Care Provider -

Following the deaths of ten family members in nine years, I recognized how unprepared I was to deal with such traumatic losses. I had no guidance for feeling festive at holidays with a table full of empty chairs. Despite wonderful support from remaining family and friends, my sense of helplessness was all-pervasive.

If I felt this way, I reflected, even with such support, how did others feel and handle their losses? Thus, I felt impelled to acquire the knowledge and tools to work with those traumatized by experiences with death.

After completion of undergraduate studies, I pursued graduate work in clinical psychology, specializing in death and dying education, as well as supervision. In 1994 Crossroads Counseling Center opened, and in the Spring of 2000 we launched the Conference Center for special programs in bereavement.

In our fast-paced culture, with its emphasis on technology, possessions, and public achievement, most mourning is complicated because of tacit proscriptions that circumscribe the healing process.

Our culture promotes and sanctions values that center around instant gratification and the appearance of feeling "good" all the time. Under pressures of such a milieu, the bereaved emerge intact, stronger, wiser and more loving.

We support a postmodern view of mourning that encourages a continuing-bond approach to loss. We also support a modern view of loss that is traditional.

After our programs, you will be able to help your bereaved clients to:

• Recognize the many avenues and aspects of mourning.
• Accept the painful loss and its meaning for their future.
• Acknowledge their anger and resentment and work though past issues.
• Identify other unresolved losses and conflicts that may arise with their griefwork.
• Return to their daily lives and activities, and continue their mourning tasks as they need to.

• Our programs are conducted in a combination of experiential and didactic methods, with ample opportunity for you to participate and express your clinical and personal concerns.
• You will receive plentiful resource materials, notebooks and handouts for ongoing use.
• Our physical setting is comfortable and warm, and our groups are small (25-30 maximum).
• Our emotional setting is accepting, nonjudgmental, serious, light-hearted and focused on your concerns.
• Our programs are grounded in past and current research, historical perspectives of bereavement and our present cultural outlooks.
• Our programs incorporate perspectives appropriate to cross-cultural populations.
• Our programs integrate bereavement with personality development, developmental theories and pyschosocial factors.
• Our programs emphasize key therapeutic principles, with a range of participatory exercises for your applications.
• Our programs have a spiritual core, in recognition of each individuals inner resources and intuitive longing for a larger Whole. Through my years in this work, I have come to realize the following:

Crossroads is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Crossroads maintains full responsibility for all programs. We also offer CEUs for nurses and all mental health board members, such as social workers, mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists.

We truly look forward to sharing our expertise with you and helping you guide your clients

• through bereavement processes
• toward healthy resolution, for
• reclamation of their interests, and
• rejuvenation of their lives.

For additional information about our programs:
Phone: 305 666-0730
Fax: 305 666-1145
Website: http://www.griefworksinc.com

In more responsive practice,

Teddy Tarr, Psy. D.
Director