An 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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Why 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…

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Rapture 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…

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Pondering 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…

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Why 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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Free Will vs. “God’s” Will

  I met with a hospice family recently that exemplified the kind of confusion and disempowerment that many people experience as a result of their childhood religious teachings. The patient wanted to do death with dignity, but because of his dementia, he did not qualify. His wife talked with me about her religious/ethical questions, specifically,…

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Are Death Doula Training Programs Substantial Enough?

A few weeks ago I was asked by an aspiring death doula for recommendations about the best training programs.  The poor woman had no idea what she was in for by opening the door to one of my favorite rants. I encounter self-proclaimed death doulas on a regular basis, and when I ask about their…

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Acknowledging Grief and Trauma in The Bible

  At The Conference on Death, Grief and Belief last weekend, one of the presenters — Dr. Jamie Eaddy — gave a brilliant talk about how the violence and trauma in the Old Testament (i.e, Hebrew Bible) is never identified as violent or traumatic. These events are not acknowledged as hurtful, and the pain of…

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