the Love & loss project
Care & Support after the Loss of Your Baby
How to Catch
A Falling Star:
Facilitator's Training & Group Guide.
Want to Start a
Support Group in
Your Community?
healing. connection. care.
this program is
made of 2 parts:
how to catch a falling star: the program
1. A facilitator's training course that teaches care-providers and peer-helpers to offer responsible, attuned leadership and to create a safe, effective, healing space for grieving parents.
2. A ready-to-go, weekly, support group program that provides the structure, direction and expertise to guide facilitators and group members through a gentle, meaningful experience that is easy to offer, and easy on the heart.
Weekly sessions are fully outlined and ready to guide you and your group participants through a experience that is easy to offer, and easy on the heart.
Follow Your Weekly
Group Guide.
You'll get time to ask your questions, work through group challenges, and deepen your confidence & skills during two live virtual sessions with your trainer, April Boyd..
Attend 2 Live
Support Sessions.
You'll get a comprehensive, pre-recorded, online training program and a written manual that you can complete at your own pace,
This training will take
approx. 10 h0urs,
Complete Your
Training Course.
how it works
The heart is made well & we are resilient.
Our Guiding Beliefs
We heal not by
"letting go" of our lost little ones,
but by finding ways to carry them with us.
Our GuidingBeliefs
It doesn't matter if you carried your baby in your womb, or in your arms. Your grief is valid & this chapter of your life is so very worthy of
your time, tenderness
& care.
Our GuidingBeliefs
Everyone needs a place where they are understood, without having to try to explain, justify, or hide just how big this experience really is.
Our Guiding Beliefs
We don't
"get over" grief.
We learn to move through it.
Our GuidingBeliefs
You want to help people to process their pain, without getting lost in the suffering.
You believe that often what grieving parents need most is other people who truly get it, & a space free of grief-phobia, judgment & platitudes.
You'd love to be able to help other grieving parents without having to go back to school for more credentials.
You'd like to have a map to follow, to be able to make sure that you're giving grieving parents the kind of care they need, in ways that feel soothing, ethical, and emotionally attuned.
Is this what you're looking for?
Hope. healing. connection.
learn to set clear & kind boundaries that protect your time & the group.
be able to respond effectively to difficult group dynamics, such as concerning comments, micro-aggressions & emotional flooding.
deepen your understanding of grief & the social experience of baby loss.
create a safe space that is trauma-informed and welcoming to all
learn how to find the right words when the questions have no answers.
about the training
This program is designed to make it super easy and sustainable for you to implement and facilitate.
It's also designed to be easier to attend.
This model provides a group experience that is less-triggering, more contained, and more conducive to recovery, connection and post-traumatic growth.
Easier to facilitate &
Easier on the heart.
validates & soothes the deep pain of infant loss & miscarriage, while making room for hope, meaning-making & healing.
art activities allow
for gentle expression of the parts of grief we have no words for.
healing happens through a mix of discussion, psycho-education, art and mutual support.
this group is not therapy,
but it is highly therapeutic.
about the group
April Boyd is a social worker psychotherapist & bereaved mom who is turning her daughter’s brief life story into a love story, by living her life as brightly as possible and helping others to do the same.
She is a private practice therapist, creator of the Baby Loss Survival Guide, author of How to Catch a Falling Star: a healing guide for grieving parents, and founder of The Love & Loss Project, an online gathering of community and resources which support grieving parents and care providers throughout 24 countries.
About Your Trainer.
You'll get a ready-made program of detailed topics, discussion guides and art activities to guide to help grieving parents:
Strengthen their coping skills, practice self-regulation & engage in gentle nervous system soothing.
Learn to set better boundaries & respond to insensitive comments.
Gain new skills to help navigate the difficult social landscape and relationship challenges of life after loss.
Weekly Topics include, but are not limited to:
Quieting the Why's & What-ifs,
Navigating the Discomfort & Necessity of Asking for & Receiving Support,
Setting boundaries & responding to insensitive comments,
Becoming the Guardian of Your Baby's Memory.
Inside the Weekly
Support Group:
what to expect
How much time with the training take?
FAQS
Approx. 14 hours.
This includes:
7 hours of pre-recorded training videos,
3 hours for the written group manual &
4 hours of live Q & A sessions.
What is the time commitment for running the group?
Plan for approx. 3 hours a week.
This includes: 2 hours of group time,
1 hour of pre-group prep & post-group pack up & debrief.
Do I need to be trained as a therapist or nurse to run this group?
This is designed for trained professionals, as well as bereaved parents who want to offer peer-support to others in their area.
What is the cost investment for this program?
The investment is sliding scale, based on your available access to funding and resources.
Let's find a time to chat and see how we can bring this program into your community.
