Posts by Terri Daniel
The Telephone Game
In Bart Ehrman’s remarkable book, Jesus Interrupted,[1] he describes how the stories that formed early Christianity were spread through the Roman empire and beyond. A merchant in a village in a village meets a traveling stranger who preaches about the life, death and miracles of a man named Jesus, and how belief in the…
Read MoreNon-Religious Chaplains
Many thanks to Amy Lawton for this excellent article pointing out that chaplains are not necessarily religious, nor are they the same as ministers or pastors: As more Americans step away from organized religion, so do more chaplains – but they are prepared to offer spiritual care regardless of a patient’s beliefs. READ MORE…
Read MoreOn the internet, anyone can be a grief therapist now Practitioners and clients struggle to navigate the unregulated counseling certification industry by Astrid Landon from https://www.codastory.com/waronscience/grief-counseling-online-certifications/ Image by TEONA TSINTSADZE In one of our previous posts we referenced this very important article, but it really needs its own dedicated space in our blog. Many…
Read MoreAn Obituary as a Healing Tool
In July 2022, this story gained national attention. I personally applauded this man for using the process of writing his father’s obituary as a tool for healing, and many mental health professionals agreed with my view. But there were lots of objections to it — primary from the lay public — because cultural norms seem…
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Think You’re Certified as a Grief Guide or Death Doula?
Think Again!
By Terri Daniel, DMin, CT . Many of you who follow my work are familiar with my rants about the deplorable practice of “certifying” people as mental health or spiritual care professionals via cheap, quick online seminars. The internet abounds with individuals claiming to be death doulas and grief guides who have no…
Read MoreWhy Winter Solstice Matters Around the World
Jasmin Merdan/Moment via Getty Images From Religion News Service, Dec. 22, 2022 (The Conversation) — If you’ve already spend hours shoveling snow this year, you may be dismayed to realize that technically, it’s not yet winter. According to the astronomical definition, the season will officially begin in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21, 2022: the…
Read MoreDoes the Hebrew Bible Sanctify Mass Murder… and Disregard the Resulting Trauma?
by Terri Daniel, DMin, CT, CCTP Excerpted from the Grief2Growth Podcast – Nov. 9, 2022 . At the 2022 Conference on Death, Grief and Belief, attendees had the privilege of listening to a presentation by grief counselor and religious scholar Dr. Jamie Eaddy. She made a point that was mind-blowing to me, and as a…
Read MoreRapture Anxiety
By AJ Willingham from CNN September 27, 2022 Thirteen-year-old April Ajoy had a sense something wasn’t right. It was quiet in her Dallas house. Too quiet. Her brothers were gone. Her parents were gone. On her parents’ bed, a pile of her mother’s clothes signaled something terrifying. Ajoy’s mind began churning, trying to remember, trying to…
Read MorePondering the Death Penalty
In the wake of the recent trial for Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people in the Parkland, Florida school shooting, debate about the death penalty has reached new heights. He was sentenced to life in prison, and there is a loud outcry from those who feel that he should be put do death. The ACLU…
Read MoreWhy the Death of a Celebrity Feels Like a Personal Loss
This article was originally published in 2020, after the death of Kobe Bryant. I am re-publishing it today because of the world’s response to the death of Queen Elizabeth. By Dr. Terri Daniel, CT, CCTP As America grieves the tragic death of sports hero Kobe Bryant, we are stunned not only by the…
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