Br. John Ryan

Br. John Ryan, OSF is a member of the American Academy of Bereavement and Pastoral Counselor.  He does bereavement counseling on an individual basis as well as a group for the Holiday Season from the first Saturday after Thanksgiving to the first Saturday after New Year.  The most important aspect of this work is listening and helping people in a group respectfully listen to each other.  We grow stronger by sharing our pain and being heard.   Grief is a natural reaction; it tells us we are alive and feeling.  It can occur after a death, loss of a job, divorce, loss of a pet or home or being in prison or a loved one in prison.  The loss of a fetus or an adult child or amputation.  

 

Bereavement work helps folks deal with regret, anger, melancholy, loneliness, emptiness and feelings that are overwhelming.  The one leading the group must be able to recognize when a person needs medical or mental health intervention, as well as social services.   Helping people with a Faith tradition utilize it to help them through.  Encouraging a person to accept support and help offered, to realize they can't do this alone.   Providing information to local resources and professional contacts.

 

A quote from Earnest Hemingway sums it up: "Everyone is broken, but some become stronger at the broken place".