❤︎ Weekly emails sent directly to your inbox with a link to take you to the course.
Various topics that include different ways of grieving, coping strategies, remembering, and preparing for anniversaries and special days, just to name a few.
❤︎ Useful website links, videos, handouts, and activities to guide you in your grief.
Friendly videos delivered in bite-size bits of information that is easy to understand and apply to your life. Tailored to how we think when newly grieving. Reduce the internet overwhelm with direct links to helpful information.
❤︎ Focus on learning, growing your personal understanding, connectedness to Loved Ones and adjusting to everyday life.
I set out to create a comprehensive grief program... and I did just that for you. Your grief is just too important.
Are you a
First 52 Hospice?
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Hospice offers an amazing gift to their families:
Bereavement Support
Each hospice determines the type and depth of Bereavement Support offered.
This means that one hospice may offer unlimited grief counseling within the first year of grief and beyond while another will offer a couple phone calls and mailings within that same year; and any level of service in-between is out there.
The Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) requirement is to offer 13 months of support without direction of how that is to be done.
In essence: set the organization policy and follow it.
Before the Journey's Newsletter was available electronically in late 2019... there was the First 52.
The Covid-19 Pandemic has challenged hospices to become more creative with technology. Families are more comfortable with reading emails and being online than ever.
How did you do as a hospice to meet your families where they are?
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The First 52 was created in 2018-2019 to remove barriers to grief support and meet the needs of all sorts of families...
- grievers that are homebound
- distant support for families that live in a different state or in another country
- bereaved that travel for work or do shift work
- grievers that are caregiving for another family member
The First 52 is a contemporary support tool for today's families.
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The First 52 is the closest to a step by step guide to the first year of grief that I've seen. The First 52 provides useful information and tools to help your families now. I share my experiences from a personal and professional perspective...
These tools follow the trajectory from grief research and literature through a grievers first year of bereavement to help folks understand their OWN grief, proven by my work with own clients, since 2009. Your hospice doesn't have to try to figure it out all on your own.
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I have had my own personal experience with grief. Sudden death due to asthma, suicide, death due to cancer, loss after long term illness and unexpected accidental death. I know each of my relationships were unique and each grief was equally different.
I decided to make a necessary and rewarding change to counseling and art therapy after caregiving for my own mother-in-law. So, Art Therapy and Counseling are a second career for me that began In 2009. I am licenced for counseling in both Illinois and Indiana and nationally certified as a Nationally Certified Counselor and a Registered Art Therapist. I have presented throughout Illinois and have traveled in the US to present regarding art therapy, grief, and coping. Learn more about my experience and professional memberships.
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Just like other Bereavement Professionals, I am frequently asked "How do I get through this?"
The tough answer is that it's moment to moment some days and it's certainly acknowledging and getting to know your grief better.
Life seems uncertain right now for your families. After significant deaths, my life was different. After caregiving, my life was different. Now, in my understanding of my grief, I am still different. I have and will continue to grow and deepen my relationship with my spirit through these experiences. There is hope in living with grief.
You can expect:
❤︎ Weekly emails sent directly to your families' email inbox with a link to the course. ***Be sure to accept emails and marketing information when you enroll to insure you receive the emails.
❤︎ Useful tools like website links, videos, handouts, and activities to guide grief.
❤︎ Bite size information that is easy to understand and apply to new ways of living. Each week is tailored to how our grieving minds can take in information - a combination of reading, watching, and applying info.
❤︎ Focus on better understanding your personal grief experience through learning, explore all sorts of aspects of grief, regain connectedness to Loved Ones and adjust to everyday life.
❤︎ Various topics that include different ways of grieving, breaking down all the tasks that need to be done in the weeks, months and year after a death, coping strategies, remembering, and preparing for anniversaries and special days, just to name a few.
❤︎ Access beyond the first year of grief - Grief doesn't just stop after one year. You can go back and revisit topics as you need.
I set out to create a thorough grief program... and I did just that for you.
***Note: This program is not intended to replace mental health counseling. This is a self-guided program. The facilitator's role is that of a guide, coach and supportive companion.
Enroll Your Families
(this is super important)
- Offer a FULL year - that meets Medicare CoPs requirements
- Emails are kept private and not shared.
- HIPAA compliant - only need name and email to enroll - individual is not identified with your hospice.
- 30% Hospice Discount - Complete interest form to receive more information and obtain your organization's discount code.
- No contract and stop enrolling when your hospice chooses.
- Meet your families when ever and where ever they are in their lives.
- Receive a sample email letter for you to send to bereaved.
**Please be sure to accept notifications and marketing emails from the course. I promise to be kind to your inbox... This is important to insure the emails to come to you each week...
Hi, I’m Julie Blackburn
Let me introduce myself... I created these artful courses for YOU! I know the importance of quality information when you are searching for understanding with your grief. Unfortunately, the internet is full of discussion groups that give partial information, are a collection of personal experiences, or simply opinion that may distract you from your own growth and empowerment.
I became a grief counselor back in 2009 after living with the loss of a number of important people in my life. By 2011, I started looking for a course like this... I was hearing from folks that they had all these barriers to getting the support they were seeking... time, location, work schedules, family obligations.... They were looking for something like this too... something flexible, something that would easily fit into their life at a time they were hurting so much.
Fast forward to now... I created this program to be a friend in grief for the first year after a death of a Loved One.
Course Curriculum
Like to integrate the First 52 into your Hospice Bereavement program?
❤︎ If you are a hospice, complete this form to begin the discussion about integrating the First 52 as an email care plan to your families. There are many benefits to adding this program for your families, staff and organization.
Testimonial
“She understands that everyone moves through and processes in their own way. Her warm and intuitive nature facilitates her ability to cater each session to your specific needs. Julie is absolutely amazing at what she does and I highly recommend her.”
- Autumn
Like to offer the First 52 to your community with added benefit?
❤︎ For community, government, faith and support organizations that would like to offer the First 52 for your community, complete this form to further discuss options.
You may have some questions... let me help you out.
What are options for hospices to offer the First 52 to Bereaved families?
Hospices have three options:
- Offer the First 52 as a benefit and cover the cost at 30% Discount for those families that would best benefit from the program.
- Offer the First 52 as a community resource on their website and provide families their 30% Discount Code so they may purchase on their own.
- Offer the First 52 as a complete Email Care Plan, have access to all reports, statistic, and participants, and manage the program on their own.
Complete the Interest Form to discuss your options further and gain access to 2 Week Sneak Peak.
When do I start the First 52?
Best is to begin the program within the first week of Bereavement. The program does follow a year... Week 1 is within the first month after a loss and will go through the anniversary of your Loved One's death. There are only a few points when time is noted within the program.
How long do I have access to the First 52?
After you receive all the emails, you have lifetime access. Emails come for a full year. During that time you have access up to your current week in the program... this also means that if you take a break, you can always pick back up within the program when you are ready. Because each loss we experience is different, you can always go back through the program if wanted or needed.
What if I'm unhappy with the program?
I would never want you to be unhappy with the First 52. Within the first 30 days you will receive tools you can use right away as well as info to help you understand your grief. If you are dissatisfied, I offer a 30 day money back guarantee. Just shoot me an email at [email protected] for a full refund within 30 days.
Hello there,
You have found the First 52 Grief Support Program. As grief and loss professionals, we know there is nothing we can say that will change our families current situation. However, we do have information that will help them at this time.
No two people grieve in the same way. There are things we can expect in grief and ways our life changes after the death of someone special. Even if our families have experienced grief before, this grief will be different. There is no relationship like the one with that loved one. Even people in the same family will experience this loss in their own way.
Our families may believe that they will never feel better... I can tell you that I see people in severe despair that do eventually feel better. Yes, their lives are different... though they develop an understanding of their personal grief to determine their own new way of living. It takes time, a dedication to themselves, a commitment to their loved one that has died, and a trust in the process. I will share tools that work and can use right away. I will not rush anyone in their grief. I guide through all sorts of topics to help folks grow in their own grief. I'm a new friend that can be counted on.
Thank you for allowing me to help your organization walk beside your bereaved families. Your families lives are forever changed. Grief is not an illness, it's a part of love and living to be acknowledged and understood. My heart is with you and your families.
Your Friend in Grief,
Julie
Remember...when you enroll...
Please be sure to accept notifications and marketing emails from the course. I promise to be kind to your inbox... This is important since you will want the emails to arrive each week...
Remember...
There are some unique opportunities if you'd like to:
❤︎ integrate the First 52 as an email care plan for your hospice families, click here to complete hospice interest form.
OR
❤︎ offer the First 52 for your community, government, and support organizations, click here to complete community interest form.