As licensed funeral professionals know, a great deal of their training in mortuary science school relates to the medical and health aspects of dealing with the remains in their care; and with a host of other technical information necessary to perform their duties. In addition, they need to become aware of dealing with the clergy from all denominations, and learn about various cultural issues that differentiate the services from one funeral to another.

Most funeral service training doesn’t include an in-depth awareness on the topic of grief, or “people’s reaction to loss and what to do about it.” Many of the funeral directors we’ve trained have told us that prior to their Grief Recovery Method training, they often said nothing to their clients about grief because they didn’t know what to say or what not to say.

Here are five positive benefits of adding Grief Recovery Method knowledge and programs to your mortuary or cemetery organization.

1. Providing essential services for a funeral and burial [or cremation] is crucial, but what families remember most is the personal treatment they receive from you and your staff. Learning what to say and not say adds helps them at the most difficult time of their lives.

The first step in creating an effective service is the ability to create a safe environment. The Grief Recovery Method Certification training teaches what to say and not say to help create that safety.

2. Many people assume that funeral and cemetery personnel are knowledgeable about grief because they deal with grievers all the time. The Grief Recovery training will give you that knowledge in a practical and accessible way which you will be able to put to use immediately.

The Training prepares you to assist grieving people whose emotions are running high because someone important to them has died. Feeling comfortable with those grievers will help you help them design the most accurate and effective funeral possible.

3. Completing your own unresolved grief will help you be even more available to the families you serve. The training will help you deal with your losses so that you can hear your clients better.

The baggage of our past can limit our ability to really listen to the families we serve because we may be afraid of our own feelings. The freedom to listen openly will expand your ability to help them create truly effective services.

4. Some funerals aren’t effective because they don’t represent the person who died. In this training, you’ll learn how to create an “accurate memory reflection” of the life that person lived.

Our early years in Grief Recovery were heavily involved with the funeral and cemetery industries, helping them create conclusionary rituals that helped everyone in attendance remember the person who died as they knew him or her in life.

5. Your firm’s reputation and goodwill will be enhanced by the Grief Recovery Training that helps you create memorable services that emotionally affect the families and all others in attendance.

For you and your staff, the time, effort, and energy you put into learning how to create emotionally effective funerals will sustain your legacy and create new clientele.

Never Again Have To Ask, “What More Could I Have Done For the Family?”

Over the past 35 years, we’ve heard that question many times, not only from funeral and cemetery personnel, but all other professions who deal with grievers.

It is essential that you and your staff have the latest and best knowledge that mortuary science schools can offer; and that you have a state-of-the-art facility and up-to-date fleet of vehicles, among the many things you need.

But the bottom line for the families you serve will always be the feeling they walk away with when the services are concluded. When they are emotionally affected by a service that helps them remember their loved one as he or she was in life, you will never again have to ask, “What More Could I Have Done For the Family?”

Some people may think we believe that Grief Recovery is the be-all, end-all answer to everything, but that’s not the way we see it. We believe that dealing effectively with grief is the best new beginning you can give the families you serve as they begin the rest of their lives without someone important to them.