Griefland - An 8 week group

Griefland is an 8 week group to offer companionship, ritual and support to the places where you hold grief, based on the work of Francis Weller.

What the group is about

We want this group to support you to befriend your grief, in the company of compassionate witnesses, and within a sacred space.

 Who the group is for

In this group we welcome all types of experiences of loss:

• You may be grieving the loss of a significant relationship(s) through death, separation or loss of contact

• You may be experiencing the loss of capacity through disability, illness, or age

• You may also be grieving the loss of a beloved animal or place, community, language or culture

• Or you may feel grief about the many ongoing harms occurring within and to our world

These losses may be recent/current but they may also go back a long way in time. They may be clearly present in your awareness, or more muted and in the background. It is common to find that aspects of our experience come forward when we are ready to grieve them, and when there is sufficient opportunity to do that.

We will also make space for grief related to the more-than-human world, and collective experiences that pervade our world and this moment in history.

This group may not be the best place to support you with a recent, traumatic loss. Please contact us for a chat if you feel unsure.

 What will happen in the group?

Sharing and witnessing each other’s experience is the core of the group, within a container that includes ritual, embodiment practices, and writing. Writing will be used as a tool to support your process. No need to share your writing unless you want to.

A wish to engage in sharing and at least some elements of ritual would be important to make the most of the group. At the same time, you’ll always be offered options about how you engage and what you choose to share.

Leesl and Emma draw on the work of Francis Weller in befriending their own grief and in the way they approach facilitating this group. Francis's key ideas can be found in his book The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief. We encourage you to read the book and/or explore Francis's work in podcasts and online, however it is not required in order to join the group.

This group will have a maximum of 8-10 participants. In considering joining this group it is important to be able to commit to attending all 8 sessions. The group will run on Friday afternoons from 4:15pm -6pm beginning on 17th of July and ending on the 4th of September 2026.

We are intentional about creating a group that is culturally safe, accessible, LGBTQIA+ friendly, neuro affirming and respectful of diverse life experiences.

Before you register

We want to speak with you before confirming your registration so that we can be sure that the group is a good fit for you and that it will meet what you are looking for. To get in touch send us an email at grieflanding@gmail.com or text/call us directly on 0423 265 538 (Leesl) or 0448 837 912 (Emma).

More information about the accessibility of Newlands Neighbourhood House can be found here. Please talk to us if there are particular things we can do to address barriers to participation.

Places are limited so if you are really keen on participating you can register and pay before speaking with us. In our conversation, if turns out that the group is not a good fit for you, we will refund you the full amount.

Let us know if you need a payment plan and we can arrange that.