INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL GRIEF COACHING | IOPGC
A journey that acknowledges the profound impact of loss and grief on individuals, communities, and organizations.
Why do we grieve anyway? We grieve because we loved.
Grieving is not a disease. It is a necessity that follows no linear pattern. Grief coaching, an untapped non-therapeutic paradigm, shifts the perspective that grief is an illness that needs to be treated, fixed, or cured. Instead, it empowers individuals to open themselves up to allow the normal and natural responses to loss … giving themselves permission to grieve. Thereafter, helping them to navigate through and thrive in their own personal sense of new normalcy. Grief coaching does not infer, provide, or replace professional counseling, therapy, or mental health services.
Our mission is to educate on the misunderstood and often avoided sensitive topic of grief; train and certify professional grief coaches to help individuals move from pain to peace, heartbreak to happiness, and grief to gratitude in the shortest time possible; and, to help organizations create compassionate and grief-informed workplace cultures.
Whether you're an individual seeking personal growth, an entrepreneur aspiring to make a positive impact, a coach expanding services, or an organization fostering a compassionate culture, our programs are designed for you. Join us in breaking the silence surrounding grief and loss, and let's together pave the way from grief to gratitude.
Platinum Grief Coach Certification Program
This premium program is Dora Carpenter’s Signature From Grief to Gratitude Coach Certification Program accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Classes are held live via Zoom for eight weeks and program includes an Intern-While-You-Learn Component where you work with a pro-bono coaching client. Class size is limited for each student to receive the greatest benefit from the program. We learn, grow, share, and sometimes cry together.
Online Grief Coach Certification Program
The original 8-week certification program held live via Zoom is now offered online. The Silver Program includes video, text, and audio content and downloadable workbook and resources/tool kit. You have 365 days access to the portal and there is no specified time to complete the 7 modules and 31 lessons. For certification, you must complete the pre-certification assessment with a score of at least 80%.
Grief Wellness for Organizations
Even after the pandemic, it seems that we are still lacking in addressing grief effectively in the workplace. Grief is an equal opportunity event and does not discriminate based on size or type of organization. Our all-inclusive grief coaching wellness program provides a grief wellness employee benefit, grief sensitivity training for management and supervisors, and grief coach certification programs.
OUR COACHES
Our certified grief coaches provide a variety of coaching, speaking, training, and consulting services. All coaches operate independently and do not have an employee or contractual relationship with the Institute of Professional Grief Coaching. Reach out to one of our featured coaches for grief coaching services and programs.
ABOUT US
Find out who we are and why we do what we do. Meet our founder, Dora Carpenter, and her team. After working many years in the cemetery business, Dora pursued grief coaching after being denied the desire to offer families grief support after burying their loved ones. She later curated the ICF-accredited From Grief to Gratitude Coach Certification Program.
TESTIMONIALS
"Hello Ms. Dora, Wow! I'm on module 3 of your grief coaching certification program, and I felt compelled to send you a message letting you know how much I LOVE it! Wow! You have done a phenomenal job on this. My 18-year-old son, Joseph died suddenly due to bacterial meningitis while away at college in 2019. It was very sudden. He woke up with what he thought was the flu and he died later that same day. I did not even get to see or talk with him before he died. It is my dream to help other people on their journey through loss. Thank you for creating this program."
"It is time for our society to engage the dialogue actively and normalize the conversation of loss and grief so we can shift this dark and avoided perspective to one of awareness and education on this sensitive topic without fear, myths, or judgmental perceptions. When we better acknowledge the fragility of life itself from an empowering viewpoint and accept the unavoidable occasion of death, we can live better in the moment, affecting a life of joy, meaning, purpose, and fulfillment." − Dora Carpenter
Jack Canfield, Co-Creator of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, interviews Dora Carpenter, founder of the Institute of Professional Grief Coaching and author of Grief Talk Revolution: It's Time to Talk About the Elephant in the Room. Learn to lead book discussion groups here.
THE FROM GRIEF TO GRATITUDE COACHING MODEL
Giving Yourself Permission to Grieve. Just as each of us was born with our unique DNA, so is the grief experience unique to each of us. There is no Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), rulebook, or one size fits all approach to handling grief. There is no right or wrong way to grieve and no one can tell you how to grieve; however, it is necessary to validate the uniqueness of the grief experience.
Remembering to Honor the Life and Legacy. Recognizing and accepting that the physical body is no longer with us, we now move to focus on the essence of who our loved one was, values instilled, accomplishments gained, lessons learned, gifts shared, memories treasured… the legacy left.
Incorporating New Traditions into Old Traditions. It is essential to your overall well-being to express and release your feelings. Staying stuck in only the past and harboring even a small percentage of unresolved grief can affect every other area of your life. Recognizing the “F” Factor: Fear, Forgiveness, and Faith is essential as you release painful emotions and begin to transition your grief and move into your new reality.
Embracing Meaning and Purpose Going Forward. You have been extended membership in a club that you never asked to join, and your life will never be the same again; however, your life can be meaningful. Seeing change as the natural flow of life and building confidence in handling it paves the way to begin creating your own legacy.
Finding Gratitude in the Gift of Now. You began the program giving yourself permission to grieve and now it is time to give yourself permission to move beyond your grief. This does not mean forgetting that hole in your heart. Treasured memories will always reside there. This should elicit a sense of peace, comfort, and even excitement as you forge ahead with the next chapter of your “new” life going forward.