Talbot Hospice Expands Grief Support Offerings

Becky DeMattia

Healing After a Traumatic Loss is a newly expanded grief support group offered by Talbot Hospice for anyone in the community impacted by a traumatic death including accident, overdose, suicide, or homicide. The group meets every second Tuesday of the month from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, and is open to the public, free of charge.

According to Talbot Hospice Bereavement Coordinator Becky DeMattia, traumatic death can create a wound that other death experiences do not; often there are unanswered questions, frustrations, guilt, which lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental and physical symptoms. “Traumatic death not only impact us personally as we navigate our lives without our loved one, it effects our families, our jobs, our marriages, our social circles, etc. In addition to processing this difficult grief, it is not uncommon for society to misunderstand our pain, or to assume things about our loved one that perhaps were not true. Traumatic deaths can bring stigma and shame and therefore further complicate the grief journey.”

The goal of Healing After a Traumatic Loss is to offer peer support, grief education, resources, and a confidential, safe place for sharing and healing and to begin processing the painful grief associated with these types of losses.

As a licensed certified social worker and certified grief counselor, DeMattia has been providing grief counseling since 2007. DeMattia has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Social Work, both from Salisbury University. She received her Certification in Grief Counseling from the American Academy of Grief Counseling in 2012 and is currently working toward a doctorate in Social Work.

Talbot Hospice is the premier resource for grief support in Talbot County offering a variety of ongoing grief and caregiver support groups, all of which meet at 586 Cynwood Drive and are open to the public, free of charge. They include Caregivers Support every Thursday at 1 p.m., Healing Through Yoga every Tuesday at 9 a.m. Pet Loss Support with Talbot Humane every 1^st Thursday at 6 p.m., Child Loss Support every 3^rd Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., and a monthly Grief Support Group every 4^th Tuesday at 5 p.m. A four-week group, Shattering the Silence, specifically for anyone impacted by a death due to overdose or suicide, begins February 18 and meets every Monday at 6 p.m. through March 4. Exact dates can be found on the website’s calendar at talbothospice.org.

For more information about Talbot Hospice grief support services contact Becky DeMattia at 410-822-6681 or [email protected].