Anxious Grief: Strategies for Working with the Missing Stage of Grief

EMDR for Kids: Trauma-Informed Strategies for Young Clients and Their Grownups

When a client presents with anxiety, does your clinical compass point to grief?

While we may expect a client to feel sadness, pain, and hurt following a loss, we do not always expect them to feel anxiety—those pervasive feelings of dread, fear, panic, agitation, and uncertainty that often occur alongside unwanted, alarming, and unpredictable physical symptoms.

From a clinical perspective, the connection between anxiety and grief makes sense. Loss reminds us of our inability to control the future, underscores our human vulnerability, and leaves us in a loop of “what ifs” – three hallmarks of anxiety.

Yet, clients and clinicians alike are only just beginning to understand the many ways that anxiety and grief are connected—and now you can too.

Join grief expert, clinician, and acclaimed bestselling author Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC, to learn strategies for working with what is often called the “missing stage” of grief: anxiety. Discover how you can help your clients navigate this often-overlooked facet of loss, process their grief on a deeper level, unpack their fears about mortality, and better bear vulnerability.

This training is absolutely free to watch live and CE credit is available!
Capacity is limited. Don’t miss out – reserve your spot today!

Register for FREE Today!
Can't attend live? Register anyway for 14-day free access to the training!
Plus, upgrade for just $49.99 to receive CE and get a copy of Claire Bidwell Smith’s new book, Anxious Grief: A Clinician’s Guide to Supporting Grieving Clients Experiencing Anxiety, Panic, and Fear!
Register for more information.

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When a client presents with anxiety, does your clinical compass point to grief?

Yet, clients and clinicians alike are only just beginning to understand the many ways that anxiety and grief are connected—and now you can too.

This training is absolutely free to watch live and CE credit is available!
Capacity is limited. Don’t miss out – reserve your spot today!

FREE Live Online Workshop
Anxious Grief:
Strategies to Support Grieving Clients Experiencing Anxiety, Panic and Fear
Featuring Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC,
January 31st, 2024
12:00 PM to 3:15 PM Central

Can't attend live? Register anyway for 14-day free access to the training!

*CE hours + free copy of Anxious Grief is available for an additional cost.
Register for more information.

Join your colleagues and Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC on January 31st, where you'll receive:

3 full hours of LIVE INTERACTIVE expert-led training
The complete set of course materials
On-demand access to the recording for 14 days*
Opportunities to get your questions answered by Claire during the training

Here’s a peek at what you’ll learn:

What is Anxious Grief?

Drawing connection between anxiety and grief
When is anxiety grief-related?
Anxiety, grief, and anxious grief
The five stages of grief plus the missing one: anxiety
How long does anxious grief last?

Techniques for Addressing Clients’ Grief-Related Anxiety

Assessment and identification of anxious grief
Recognizing masked anxiety symptoms
Strategies to normalize anxiety and panic

Helping clients get out from underneath their anxious grief

Rewriting the story of loss
Understanding the fallacy of worry
Making amends to release guilt-driven anxiety
Taking inventory
The gift (and power) of writing
Mindfulness for retraining the anxious brain
Meaning-making and connection

YOU'LL LEARN FROM:

Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC, is a practicing therapist, renowned grief expert, and critically acclaimed author of four books including The Rules of Inheritance, After This: When Life is Over Where Do We Go?, Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief, and Anxious Grief (2023).  Claire’s work has been celebrated by mental health advocates like Maria Shriver and New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Strayed.

Led by her own experiences with grief and fueled by her work in hospice and private practice, Claire strives to provide support for all kinds of people experiencing all kinds of loss. Claire offers numerous programs in addition to working with people one-on-one, as well as training other clinicians to work in the field of grief and loss. Claire has been featured in and written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Scientific American, The LA Times, CNN, MSNBC, Forbes, The Today Show, Goop, Oprah Magazine, and Psychology Today. She deeply loves her work and is devoted to expanding the conversation about grief and loss. Find out more and connect with Claire at www.clairebidwellsmith.com.

Click here for information about Claire Bidwell Smith

Endorsements for Anxious Grief

"Claire Bidwell Smith is a friend and colleague, as well as the go-to grief expert when it comes to anxiety and grief. I’m so proud of her for writing this practical and useful workbook. Anxious Grief is an important tool for clinicians and their clients."

— David Kessler, author of Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief

"The Anxious Grief workbook is a highly accessible, completely user-friendly, and critically important addition to the bereavement field. Anyone working with clients in grief will find exercises and insights to enhance their practice and to ease emotional pain. Claire Bidwell Smith gets it right on every page. I can’t wait to use it with my clients."

— Hope Edelman, author of Motherless Daughters and founder of motherlessdaughters.com

"Claire Bidwell Smith is one of the few voices in the grief world I trust implicitly. With Anxious Grief, she provides a practical and comprehensive guide for clinicians supporting clients struggling with anxiety after a loss. Grievers need professionals who understand the nuance and complexity of life after loss. Claire’s new book will help you be that presence for your clients."

— Megan Devine, LPC, grief expert, psychotherapist, and author of How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed

"Claire Bidwell Smith has brought forth an invaluable asset to the grief community once again. Anxious Grief is a thoughtful, gentle workbook that has it all: connection, education, validation, new ways of looking at our grief experience, and so much opportunity for growth. Being with Claire as she reflects on her own experience connects us to a real-life understanding and reiterates just how much she ‘gets it.’ This is a wonderful companion to any grief work, or a great first step to engaging with one’s loss."

— Gina Moffa, LCSW, grief and trauma psychotherapist and author of Moving On Doesn’t Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss

"This workbook is a gift, and a must-read companion for those experiencing the anxiety that so often accompanies grief. This is an important resource full of compassionate guidance from one of the world’s leading grief educators. If you are struggling with loss, we cannot recommend Claire’s work highly enough."

— Sally Douglas & Imogen Carn, authors of Good Mourning

"Anxious Grief adeptly explores the profound connection between grief and anxiety, with Claire Bidwell Smith’s own experiences woven throughout to deepen the reader’s grasp of the tools. Her empathetic approach and practical strategies empower professionals to assist clients navigating the complexities of loss and anxiety, facilitating their journey toward healing and resilience. This book is an essential addition to the toolkit of mental health and trauma professionals."

— Kate Truitt, PhD, MBA, author of Healing in Your Hands and Keep Breathing

Can't attend live? Register anyway for 14-day free access to the training!

*CE hours + free copy of Anxious Grief is available for an additional cost.
Register for more information.