Grief Companion Program Fall 2025

(International Coaching Federation approved 39 CCE credits)

Becoming a Grief Companion is an immersive journey of the heart and soul. Launched in 2020, this program was inspired by Grief Unleashed Founder Dina Bell-Laroche’s years of devoted practice and a longing to bring more grief and loss literacy to the world. This Program is for coaches, helping professionals, and those inspired to support a healthier way to accompany the bereaved through a life loss. If you are interested in becoming more informed about death, dying, and ways to better support others, then this Program is for you. Dina is a published author, an Integral Master Coach and has over 2500 coaching hours as a certified International Professional Coach. She is also a Certified Thanatologist (CT) and is immersed in the field of thanatology as a student, which enriches her teachings. Dina is devoted to offering solace to the bereaved and to train people in the art of companionship.

This program is organized into two stages. The first three sessions will equip participants with a solid foundation to better support your capacity to be in the presence of those suffering from loss. The next stage is designed to hone your ability to meet your own life losses from a place of grace and to deepen your capacity to bear witness to others skilfully and compassionately. Here are a few comments from participants:

“The Grief Unleashed experience has expanded my awareness of my own grief and loss and how I related to it. I feel more capable of companioning others, in large part because Dina models a way of being in this experience that has us witnessing how we might be with others when they are grieving. We aren’t simply talking about grief, we are living through it, together. I feel more curious, more capable to explore my own grief and am more confident to walk alongside others as a companion.” Stephanie Potter, Integral Master Coach

“Exploring this space with Dina was an honor and a gift.  Dina has a unique and differentiated way of simultaneously leading and walking beside, sitting with you in everything so you never feel alone.  There’s no one I’d rather companion me on this journey.  Thanks to Dina and Grief Unleashed, I’ve seen the depths of my grief and the heights of my joy, opening myself to the idea of a fully-lived life. Thanks to Dina, I’ve finally surrendered to the notion that grief is beautiful and healthy and all around us, a shared experience and shared language I can use if I simply shed the fear and allow it in.” Whitney Schmiesing, Google Account Executive

“Becoming a Grief Companion is an absolute game changer. Dina will hold space and guide you to all the places you never knew you needed to see. This was a truly transformative experience. I am much more able to hold myself and also hold other in grief. This program is for everyone!” Stephanie Puetz, Integral Master Coach

What you will receive:

• A pre and post coaching conversation with Dina on a life loss you want to explore

• A special gift package to nourish your experience, including a signed copy of Dina’s book Grief Unleashed: Moving from the Hole in our Hearts to Whole-Hearted

• A psychometric tool to create shared language and to approach our grief from a ‘ holistic way’

• Eight communal conversations that uncover different aspects of grief and loss (all sessions are from 11 h 00 to 15 h 00 EST)

• Curated practices between sessions to be with your grief holistically

• Mini voyages with other participants to practice and hone your grief companioning skills

• A list of resources including poems, songs, and readings to support further integration.

• (39 CCE International Coaching Federation approved credits)