Seven ways to assist a grieving person

1. Be present physically as well as emotionally

2. Assist the grieving person in accepting, expressing and

identifying feelings.

3. Listen non-judgmentally and with permissiveness and

acceptance.

4. Let your genuine concern and caring show.

5. Encourage the grieving person to talk about the deceased.

6. Provide the griever with normative data about the grief process.

7. Encourage the grieving person to be patient with themselves, not to expect too much and not to impose any shoulds.

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not caring, not healing and face us with the reality of our powerlessness, that is the friend who cares.

-Henri Nouwen-