How To Show Up For Others

Grief Out Loud

"How do I help someone who is grieving?" This is the perennial question when it comes to showing up for people we care about after someone dies. Zack Wheat, a Board Certified Chaplain, knows more than most about what people who are grieving need - and don't need. Professionally, Zack knows about this from his work as a hospital chaplain for an inpatient palliative care team. He also knows about it from his time volunteering as a facilitator in peer grief support groups at Dougy Center. But, long before he was a hospital chaplain or a grief group facilitator, Zack learned about how to be there for others when he was 21 and his friend Leanna died in a car accident.

In this episode we talk about:

• What it was like for Zack to speak at his friend’s funeral

• His draw to working as a chaplain

• The difference between hospital and hospice chaplaincy

• How the pandemic impacted Zack and his hospital colleagues

• What people who are grieving need – and don’t need

• How to be human with other humans who are grieving

• What keeps people from showing up for others

• The value of acknowledgment, empathy, and presence

• What Zack’s learned as a facilitator in a peer grief support group