The Christi Center offers free, ongoing support groups for adults grieving the loss of a child, spouse, parent, sibling or other loved one.
By connecting with others with shared experiences, you will be invited into a peer support group with those who have also experienced the death of a loved one. We offer support groups where you connect with others and find a safe space to explore the emotions that are part of the grief process. Led by a facilitator, you can also explore activities to help maintain a healthy relationship with your memories and loved one, and in community education so that we are all better equipped to help the grieving people in our lives.
You will receive the support of peers who can truly relate, from hearing how others have coped, and the realization that you are not alone in your experience of loss. Together, you can benefit from helpful guidance on how to manage and express your complex emotions in a healthy manner.
Understanding that grief does not have a cure, but requires ongoing maintenance, our services are available for however long they are needed, and are always free of charge.
The Christi Center offers groups to create community for those with shared experiences.
Loss of a Child
Loss of a Partner/Spouse
Loss of a Parent or Sibling
Loss to Crime
Loss to Overdose
Loss to Suicide
Pregnancy & Infant Loss
Loss to or During COVID
Frequently Asked Questions
Peer support is the help and support that people with lived experience are able to give to one another. At The Christi Center, it means you will attend groups with others who have experienced similarities in their losses. Our adult groups are facilitated by trained volunteers, many of whom have also experienced a loss.
Peer support can be very effective in the healing process because group members not only empathize with and validate individual experiences, but also share their lived experience, knowledge and information, encouragement, and support.
All of our grief support services are free -of-charge. Grief is hard enough without worrying about insurance coverage, co-pays or fees-for-service.
We offer groups in Austin at our home in the Rosedale/Allandale neighborhood, in Georgetown in the Community Resource Center, and online.
Yes! We offer an adult loss group in Spanish, and our Kids Who Care program welcomes Spanish-speaking and bilingual families.
We have adult loss groups for Loss of a Child/Grandchild, Loss of a Partner/Spouse, Loss of a Parent, Sibling, or other Significant Loved One (Mixed Loss Group). We also offer specific groups for Loss to Suicide, Loss to Overdose, and Loss to a Crime. These groups provide space to process the trauma around the cause of death in addition to the grief of losing the loved one.
Call us at 512-467-2600 or fill out our online form. We will talk with you about your loss, your current support system, and help you find the right group to start with. We will also talk through what to expect the first time you attend a group.
Support groups at The Christi Center are open-ended. This means we trust you to decide how long and how often to attend. As a new member, we recommend that you come at least 3 times –it can take that long to find connection. And over time, if you stop attending, know that our doors are always open to you. The grief process has many ups and downs, and sometimes you just need to connect with your peers.
We offer a teen group for youth ages 13-18. (link to teen info) While it’s possible that your teen might be able to handle adult conversations, the other adults might not feel as free to share. Most importantly, we believe that the greatest benefit to peer support is connecting with others who share some similarities, like going to high school while grieving.
No. We do offer our Kids Who Care program which offers play and activity-based grief support for kids 5-12, and has a concurrent group for the child’s parents/caregivers.
Our adult groups are facilitated by trained peer volunteers and co-facilitated by clinical interns pursuing a master’s degree in social work or professional counseling. Many facilitators came to The Christi Center as a group member after their own loss, and wanted to give back by helping others.
