Established 1977 Founded 1977 Type of business Nonprofit organization | Founder Russell Friedman President John W James | |
Location Sherman Oaks, California Website www.griefrecoverymethod.com Similar Al‑Anon/Alateen, Overeaters Anonymous, Nar‑Anon, American Foundation for Suicid, Narcotics Anonymous Profiles | ||
Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation (GRIEF) is a 501(c)(3) organization specializing in helping people with grief issues. The organization is headquartered in Sherman Oaks, California, with locations in Canada, England, and Sweden. Its mission focuses on disseminating information about grief and the possibility of recovery from the impact of death, divorce, and other significant emotional losses.
Members of the institute have appeared on CNN and other broadcast networks to help people understand emotional responses to national and international grief events – notably, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001; when Andrea Yates drowned her five children; and during the Ronald Reagan memorial week. They have also conducted hundreds of print and radio interviews relative to chronicling events like the death of Princess Diana and other celebrities; plane crashes; and natural disasters.
The organization donated 1500 copies of James and Friedman’s books, The Grief Recovery Handbook and When Children Grieve, to the families directly affected by the 9/11 attacks, and donated 2500 copies of When Children Grieve to the school districts in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana that took in thousands of children displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The institute also trains and certifies mental and medical health professionals, funeral directors, clergy, and others in the application of the principles and actions that help grieving people. After completing the training, certificants take groups of individuals through a 12-week outreach program. More than 500,000 people have completed the program.