The holidays are upon us, bringing family and friends together to join in festivities, fun and traditions. As a popular holiday song declares, “Tis the season to be jolly.” For some the holidays don’t feel jolly and heighten feelings of anxiety, sadness and depression, especially for those dealing with the death of a loved one. People experience and deal with death in various ways. How you pick up the pieces, heal and move forward, especially while in school and focusing on your studies, can be extremely difficult. That’s why Becky Ablad and Annalise John, graduate students in the College of Social Work specializing in mental health, established the University of Utah chapter of Actively Moving Forward. Both took an elective grief and loss class this past summer after people close to them and embarked on a mission to find a way to help other college students going through similar situations. AMF is a free student-led support group dedicated to helping other students grieving the illness or death of a loved one. University Counseling Center also offers a grief support group to students called Sharing is Caring and consists of semester-long sessions held once a week on Wednesdays from 12-12:50 p.m. in room 344 of the Student Services Building. For $20 a semester, UCC Licensed Psychologist and Group Coordinator Karen Cone-Uemura, offers a place for those who have experienced loss to come together, talk and connect. Representatives from either group are available to talk about resources for coping with grief during the holidays.
University of Utah AMF Chapter | amf.uofu@gmail.com
University Counseling Center | 801-581-6826