Good Grief

My internship for the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program is at Good Grief in Morristown, NJ. Good Grief is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide unlimited and free support to children, teens, young adults, and families after the death of an immediate family member through peer support programs, education, and advocacy. So far, I have been working at Good Grief for a couple weeks now and have mostly been setting up and facilitating support groups. Even with only being there a short amount of time, I already feel myself learning so much about the aftermath of losing a parent while still in childhood. In my future, I am looking to work with children who are experiencing PTSD and trauma. For young children, losing a direct parent or sibling is a traumatic event for them, especially depending on how the death of that individual occurred. Children could have witnessed their parent or sibling die and could develop anxiety, distress, sleep disturbances (nightmares), self-isolation, irritability, misperceived danger, etc. These are things I have read in textbooks and studied for exams, but I am starting to see these symptoms in real life talking to these children. Of course, it’s horrible for the people experiencing it but helpful exposure to me as a future helping professional looking to counsel people with these experiences.

One thing I really hope to learn about myself while at my internship is what age groups I enjoy the most and want to work with in the future. Good Grief is a terrific opportunity for me to narrow down what age populations I like. There are seven different support groups all with different ages from pre-school children to older adults. In the few different groups I have facilitated, I have enjoyed working with the teenagers the most. This age population experiences so many struggles already and the trauma of losing a parent makes these pivotal years unbearable. This is where they will start to experience significant milestones in their life without a parent being there, like getting their driver’s license, going to prom, graduating high school, going to college, etc. Because of these struggles, I find this age population to be the most fulfilling to work with. However, I want to remain open to every age group to see if my mind changes.

This is my facilitator name tag that I wear every day in the office.
This is my facilitator name tag that I wear every day in the office.
This was written by a participant in teen group on June 9th at a Night of Support. The topic for today was “resiliency” and the participant didn’t know how to explain how they were feeling so instead they felt compelled to write it out.
This was written by a participant in teen group on June 9th at a Night of Support. The topic for today was “resiliency” and the participant didn’t know how to explain how they were feeling so instead they felt compelled to write it out.
This is the 3rd-5th grade support group picking out activities to do. There are different activities options in the child groups if they don’t want to talk about their grief and instead want a distraction. Activities include bracelet making, drawing, model magic, sand art, play dough, etc.
This is the 3rd-5th grade support group picking out activities to do. There are different activities options in the child groups if they don’t want to talk about their grief and instead want a distraction. Activities include bracelet making, drawing, model magic, sand art, play dough, etc.

Nicole Gomber ’23
Counseling and Human Services

5 Replies to “Good Grief”

  1. I would imagine that this work is equally rewarding and challenging. I am also interning with a nonprofit, however I do not work directly with those the nonprofit serves as you do. I do not know if I would be capable of working directly with people as you have. With this being said, I admire the fact that you are working to help children and teenagers dealing with the loss of a close relative. Good luck with the rest of your time interning with Good Grief

  2. Hi Nicole,

    I really enjoyed reading your post! It seems like you have learned a lot about the grieving process and have helped many people along the way. I admire your work because I could imagine it takes a lot of mental toughness to help alleviate the pain of losing a loved one especially when it comes to young children. I am glad you have found this work to be fulfilling. Keep it up!

  3. Hi Nicole,
    It must be so rewarding to work for this organization! I’m glad your internship closely aligns with your career goals and has exposed you to many different age groups. You are absolutely right that teenagers experience several significant milestones, and it must be difficult to celebrate them without a parent’s presence. I can tell you are passionate about helping others, and I am confident you will positively impact many people’s lives in the future!

  4. Nicole,
    I’m so glad that you’re getting along so well at your internship! It really sounds like a great opportunity to really set you up for the future. It’s awesome that you got to experience working with different groups and got to know that you enjoy working with teenagers the most. It sounds like a super grueling field to work in, and I give you props for being the necessary support for these people.

  5. Nicole –
    Your internship sounds so lovely. It takes a strong person to work in an environment like that, so I admire your abilities to keep things comfortable and positive. Being able to make an impact on a person, especially a child, going through a hard time must feel so rewarding. It’s great that you’re working with a variety of age groups, I hope you land on what age group you want to work with!

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