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Grief Professionals Help Caregivers Cope With Loss

You don’t have to struggle alone in the days before or after a loved one’s death. Here’s how to find caring support in the worst of times

Paul Wynn,

AARP

Published July 30, 2026

a person puts their hand on another persons shoulder

Liam Eisenberg

Key takeaways

Grief often begins during a loved one’s illness but can sometimes remain unacknowledged while someone is in the midst of caregiving.
Caregivers don’t have to wait for loss to seek help. Grief professionals provide tailored support during active caregiving and beyond.
A wide variety of support is available to caregivers through hospice care and hospitals, online groups and private grief professionals.

Rhonda Evans spent several years caring for others. Then, in 2024, she found herself struggling with a devastating stretch of loss when her dad, aunt and mom died within five weeks of one another. Each loss brought a different kind of grief, but she was closest to her mom, whom she had cared for through declining independence and complications from Parkinson’s disease.

As the sole caregiver while working full-time in health care IT, Evans was consumed by managing hospice care, medical appointments, assisted living decisions and, eventually, funeral arrangements. Like many caregivers, she considered reaching out to hospice social workers for support, but found she wasn’t emotionally ready to process the weight of it all.

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“I was still in project-management mode. There were too many logistics before I could sit down with my feelings,” says Evans, 62, of Charlotte, North Carolina. Then, about a year after losing her mom, Evans stumbled across free online grief support sessions led by certified grief coach Charlene Lam, founder of Curating Grief. At first, she simply listened, staying off-camera while a half dozen participants shared their experiences. But then she began to open up to the group, and eventually she started one-on-one sessions with Lam.

Today, Evans says grief hasn’t disappeared, but it has changed. Through coaching, reflection and preserving her family’s history by researching her mom’s genealogy, she has found a way to carry her mom’s legacy forward while slowly reclaiming joy in her own life.

collage of pitctures of a mother and a daughter

Rhonda Evans worked through the loss of her mom with the help of a grief coach.

AARP (Courtesy Rhonda Evans,2)

The physical loss of her family members brought a sudden wave of shock and sadness. But she realized later that the mourning had begun much earlier. Unlike traditional bereavement, caregiver grief unfolds in waves, with each decline in memory, communication or independence triggering a new sense of loss that can manifest as sadness, anger, fear and loneliness.

This slow, pre-death mourning is a quiet reality for millions of caregivers, an experience called anticipatory grief.

“Grief can start at the time of diagnosis because that’s a major loss of normalcy in anyone’s life,” says Barbara Karnes, a hospice nurse and author of The Final Act of Living. She adds that it's "typically much more intense for caregivers than non-caregivers because of the close bond they form with the care recipient.”

Who are grief professionals?

Grief professionals can help caregivers work through these complicated emotions, offering guidance throughout the grieving process — before, during and after a loved one’s death — which can take weeks, months or years.

While the field is still emerging, grief professionals come from many backgrounds, including counseling, life coaching, social work, psychology, hospice care and pastoral services. Many end-of-life doulas also provide grief support.

For caregivers seeking help, it’s important to understand the difference between various roles.

Grief counselors or grief therapists are licensed mental health professionals with specialized expertise in bereavement. These professionals diagnose and address mental health conditions like depression or anxiety, which are commonly associated with grief. They work in hospitals, health systems or private practice and can help when grief becomes overwhelming or begins to interfere with daily life.
Grief coaches or bereavement coaches are not licensed professionals and do not provide psychotherapy. However, they often have certifications and in-depth training to provide grief education, practical tools and emotional support. They are often found in private practice and run support groups in community or faith-based organizations.

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At UC Health in Cincinnati, for example, hospital chaplain Amy Arnold spends much of her day supporting patients, caregivers and families of all faith backgrounds who are confronting serious illness, end-of-life decisions and loss. “Grief is deeply spiritual, regardless of a person’s specific faith or belief system,” says Arnold.

There’s also hospice care, which is one of the most common ways to find grief support. Shelby Moore, CEO of Heartlinks Hospice in Grandview, Washington, says grief support begins as soon as the hospice team enters a patient’s home, because families are already experiencing anticipatory grief.

“One of our biggest goals is to normalize grief,” Moore says. “Caregivers often think they just have to be strong, but healing begins when people realize it’s OK to ask for support."

How grief shows up

Many caregivers assume grief begins only after a loved one dies. But before death occurs, it often shows up in subtle ways, and many people may not recognize the early signs, says Michelle Thornhill, grief specialist, instructor of the University of Vermont’s grief and bereavement professionals certificate and vice president of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance.

Finding grief support

Caregivers can find grief support in a variety of places, where, in most cases, the services are free and easily accessible. They include:

Community centers: Local nonprofit organizations focused on caregiving, aging, senior care, Alzheimer’s disease and other serious conditions often provide bereavement and grief support groups.
Employee assistance programs (EAPs): Some employers contract with grief professionals or provide referrals through workplace wellness programs.
Faith communities: Churches, synagogues, mosques and other faith organizations often have grief ministries or partner with grief support professionals.
Funeral homes: Some sponsor grief support groups or maintain referral networks of local grief professionals.
Hospice organizations: Many hospices offer bereavement programs for families, and some employ or partner with grief professionals or bereavement specialists. Medicare provides families with free grief and bereavement services through qualified hospice providers for up to 13 months after the loss of a loved one. Families must make sure their loved one is enrolled in a Medicare-certified hospice program to qualify. Visit Medicare's website to find a hospice program near you.
Hospitals and health systems: Cancer centers and palliative care programs may refer families to grief professionals or host support programs.
Online services: Virtual coaching, support groups and workshops have become increasingly common, making grief support available regardless of location.
Private practice: Many grief professionals and grief coaches work independently, offering one-on-one sessions in person or virtually.

Paul Wynn, a veteran health care writer, has spent over a decade immersed in the caregiving community, both as a family caregiver and as a journalist covering caregiving issues for national publications.

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