Why Grief Groups Work: The Case for Bringing Group Support Into Your Practice

Grief groups work because they do something individual counseling alone often can't: they show a grieving person, in real time, that they are not the only one. I know this from the research, and I know it from my own life. Research backs this up, group formats consistently outperform other formats, particularly in grief outcomes. And for clinicians, learning to facilitate them well is one of the most scalable, high-impact skills you can add to your practice.

Why I believe in grief groups

I was 14 when my mom died. I felt alone, different, like I didn't belong anywhere. I couldn't talk to my friends about it; I'm not even sure I ever did. I cried in silence at night.

Then my dad made me go to a grief group. I was 15, at an all-girls Catholic high school, and extremely boy-crazy at the time, so my dad knew exactly how to get me in the door: he told me there'd be boys there. There weren't. But I walked into that room, and my life changed. For the first time, I didn't feel alone in my grief. I saw other people going through something like what I was going through, and I kept showing up because it helped; it helped me realize that what I was feeling was normal, that I wasn't so different after all.

That's why I believe so powerfully in the power of grief groups. I've seen it firsthand, personally and with thousands of clients since: people nodding along as someone else shares their story, feeling understood, connecting with people they never expected to relate to because the losses looked so different on the surface but the feelings underneath were the same. I've watched real growth happen in that room. I've watched friendships form that lasted years, people who became each other's "grief friends," who got it, and who could support each other long after the group ended.

What does the research actually say?

The evidence for group-based bereavement support is stronger than many clinicians assume, particularly for grief itself as an outcome.

A meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials, covering 2,690 participants, found that bereavement support produced significant reductions in grief, depression, and anxiety. When researchers compared formats, group-based support was the most effective specifically for grief, while a combined individual-and-group format worked best for depression, and an individual format worked best for anxiety. Support was also more effective when delivered by trained professionals and across more than six sessions.

What this means clinically: if grief itself, not just depression or anxiety is the primary target, group format isn't a lesser substitute for individual work. It's the format the evidence favors. That doesn't mean groups replace individual counseling for every client, but it does mean group work deserves a real place in a clinician's toolkit, not just a referral list.

Why does the group setting do something individual sessions can't?

Universality, realizing "I'm not the only one who feels this," is one of the most consistently cited mechanisms of change in group therapy generally, and it shows up especially clearly in grief. A grieving person can hear "what you're feeling is normal" from a clinician many times without it landing. Hearing it from another griever, in the room, often lands immediately.

Groups also create connections that outlast the group itself. Clinicians who run grief groups regularly see members exchange numbers, keep meeting after the formal sessions end, and become what many call "grief friends" people who get it, sometimes for years afterward. That kind of peer support is difficult to replicate in individual work, and it extends the clinical benefit well past the last session.

Bringing group facilitation into your own practice

Facilitating a grief group well is a distinct skill set from individual grief counseling: different pacing, different ways of managing disclosure and safety, and different tools for drawing connection from very different loss experiences in the same room. That's exactly what our training From Theory to Group Room is built to teach: a 3 CE-hour training on facilitating adult grief support groups, grounded in the G.R.I.E.F. Framework, co-presented by Kelly Daugherty and Karyn Arnold.

If you've ever watched a grief group turn a room of strangers into each other's support system, you already know why this work matters. The research just confirms what many clinicians have seen firsthand.

Register for these upcoming Live trainings on group therapy work:

Best Practices for Starting and Facilitating a Grief Group for Children and Adolescents:
Best Practices for Starting and Facilitating a Grief Group for Children and Adolescents

From Theory to Group Room: Facilitating Adult Grief Support Groups: From Theory to Group Room: Facilitating Adult Grief Support Groups