About the Centre for the Grief Journey

Dr Bill Webster is passionately committed to assisting others on this difficult grief journey. It was out of a desire to bring some comfort, direction and hope to grieving people in circumstances similar to his own that Bill, some 5 years after his own loss, and having worked through his own grief issues, began to offer community grief support programs. Bill completed two additional academic degrees, including his doctorate in 1990, and has developed his grief support program to a highly effective and widely recognized resource for people after a significant loss.

The Centre for the Grief Journey was established in 1992 to assist and support people through the grief journey and to provide meaningful resources and helps.

The Mission of the Centre for the Grief Journey is to assist and support people in a grieving process after a significant loss. The Grief Journey approach combines education, empathy and encouragement as part of a comprehensive package of methods and materials. Because there is so little understanding of grief and loss in our "death denying culture", people often fear they are "losing it", or "going crazy". When they understand that grief is a natural, albeit difficult, experience, this fact can free the person to explore their reactions and feelings by giving them "permission" to grieve.

"After my daughter died, I felt there was no hope and very little help. Then I attended Bill's program. He didn't give me all the answers, but he helped me find answers for myself." Katey

The Centre has created several strategies to reach this goal. Dr Webster has developed numerous community grief support programs which he himself facilitates, and which is also available to all communities through a video series and grief support package. Many have found this resource to be most effective:

'When I felt I had no reason to go on living .. I found understanding, and most of all, hope for the future." Margaret

Dr Webster has also written a series of books which address many relevant issues in an "easy to read" format which grieving people find effective and helpful.

We also provide several audio tapes which have brought solace to those who need a comforting voice, and those who cannot concentrate on reading, or are visually challenged.

Our video, "From Mourning to Dawn" depicts the grief journey, explained by Dr Bill Webster and dramatically illustrated by 11 participants who share their own story of loss and their reactions to the experience.

Dr Webster also travels around North America and Europe to speak to professional people offering seminars in a wide range of motivational and grief related topics, as well as providing talks to grieving people themselves. His videos are used all over the world, including New Zealand and Australia.

The Centre sees its mission as offering:

Empathy - Compassionate support and solace.

Sympathy - Establishing a caring community.

Sensitivity - Realizing we meet people at a vulnerable time.

The Centre provides a service to people through the most difficult experiences of life. We never lose sight of the trust this responsibility demands. Every individual grieves in their own unique way, so we try to tailor a program that suits each distinctive situation.

There is no "cookie cutter" approach to grief, so we try to understand every individual reaction, and adapt our program to meet the particular need. Our resources are economically positioned to allow access by as many people as possible without adding a financial burden to their heavy load.

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