The Duke Personal Assistance Service rolled out four new virtual support groups to provide support to University faculty and staff who are processing grief from the loss of a loved one, presenting an opportunity for them to “process uncomfortable emotions and discuss coping skills.”
The newly-offered support sessions — modeled after a support group held at Duke Raleigh Hospital — will serve a wider community of staff and faculty employed by the University and the Duke Health System. The groups are scheduled to meet 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. weekly beginning Wednesday through Oct. 2.
“[We] realized that a lot of people at Duke Raleigh happened to be experiencing grief around the same time,” said Caryn Christiano, senior EAP counselor for the personal assistance service, speaking of the decision to create the original program. “Because we’re at a place right now where we can do more … that’s kind of why [the expansion] was then rolled out.”
Initially, PAS planned to offer one virtual support group, but an unanticipated spike in interest led to the creation of three more groups. Currently, 26 people remain on a waiting list to join a support group, all of whom are still able to contact PAS for immediate support individually.
The original Duke Raleigh offering was made possible due to sufficient staffing and the availability of a counselor to facilitate the sessions. For similar reasons, Christiano said she believes now is the perfect time to start up the new virtual sessions, pointing to three of her colleagues who offered to facilitate the added three groups.
Christiano added that she believes the opportunity for people to participate virtually was a key component in the unexpected demand.
“I think that there is some anonymity [being virtual] versus being in person” that people appreciate while grieving, she said.
Looking to the future, Christiano noted that she is unsure whether the virtual grief sessions will be an ongoing offering or a one-time program, but maintained that “each of us are thinking about how we can offer more and reach more people in a different way.”
For Duke students seeking similar support, Counseling and Psychological Services offers individual counseling, psychiatric services and group counseling for students. The office is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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Ryan Kilgallen is a Trinity sophomore and an associate news editor for the news department.