Grief Resources
When a person’s journey has ended with ALS, close friends and family members will begin a bereavement process through which they will mourn and face a future without their loved one.
The resources below are designed to provide family members with tools, resources, and information about grief and the bereavement process and to assist you during this difficult, emotional and often frightening journey.
Please contact your Care Services Coordinator or the Chapter's Bereavement Program Coordinator for additional support and resources.
Grief Support
The ALS Association Oregon and SW Washington Chapter is honored to offer a once monthly virtual bereavement support group and individual support to those who have lost a loved one to ALS. The bereavement group serves as an opportunity to connect with others who have experienced loss associated with ALS and offers focused time for healing and remembering. The group is facilitated by Rebekah Albert, Bereavement Services Coordinator.
Grief Support Group (virtual)
Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Virtually.
Grief Support Group (in-person)
Check out our calendar for upcoming meetings in the Portland-metro area.
To sign up for the group or for more information about the bereavement support group please contact Rebekah Albert at (503) 238-5559 Ext. 125 or rebekah.albert@alsoregon.org
A Time to Remember
Watch our community remembrance presentation to honor those lost to ALS in 2022.
Bereavement Resources
5 Ways to Practice Self-Care After a Loss | Psychology Today
“Immediately after your loved one dies, you may feel like you're in a fog, and this is normal. Chances are you were busy with activities (i.e., planning a memorial gathering) which directed some of your attention away from your sorrow. And now that the reality and weight of your loss are starting to sink in, you may be struggling with knowing just how to take care of yourself.”
How the Brain Rewires as We Grieve | Psychology Today
“In recent decades, neuroscience has revealed fascinating information about our relationships and what happens in our brains when we grieve for a loved one who is dead or gone. When a devoted spouse dies or a beloved partner unilaterally ends a relationship, our grieving brain has an enormous rewiring job to do.”
How to Rediscover Purpose After the Loss of a Spouse | Psychology Today
“Grief is accompanied by a cascade of secondary losses—including, often, the loss of our sense of purpose. It can deprive us of our sense of purpose which is what propels us out of bed in the morning, for a time, our purpose might just become incorporating our grief.”
Stages of Grief: The Harmful Myth That Refuses to Die | Psychology Today
The "5 Stages of Grief", developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in the 1960s, was based on interviews with the dying and intended to describe how people come to terms with their own impending death. Applied to the bereaved, this model is a myth that does harm, bringing unnecessary suffering when grievers who may worry that they aren't conforming. Because grief obeys its own trajectory, there is no timetable for feelings of pain after loss; nor is it possible to avoid suffering altogether.
Dr. David Kessler defines “6 needs of grieving:” getting support of others, expressing feelings, releasing guilt, being released from old wounds, integrating pain with love and finding meaning after loss.