Global Grief Network · Specialized and Advanced Program

GGN Secondary Grief and Compassion Fatigue: Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others

Recognize the emotional effects of supporting grieving people, including secondary grief and compassion fatigue, and build sustainable ways to keep caring.

A Global Grief Network program

If you or someone you know may be in danger right nowCall 988 Text 988 Immediate danger: call 911

988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the United States. It is free, confidential, and open 24/7 by call, text, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Veterans: dial 988 then press 1. Outside the US, use your local emergency number or crisis line. This program is education, not crisis care. If you are struggling as you read, please pause and reach out now.

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Enroll in this Global Grief Network program for $199.

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A Welcome from the Global Grief Network

People who support others through grief often carry some of that grief with them. Caregivers, health workers, educators, faith leaders, first responders, peer supporters, and volunteers may notice heaviness, exhaustion, or numbness after a long stretch of caring.

This program is for anyone who supports grieving people, paid or unpaid. It explains secondary grief and compassion fatigue in plain language, helps you notice your own warning signs, and offers practical, original GGN practices for sustaining care over time.

The Global Grief Network (GGN) exists so that no one has to grieve alone. Through the GGN app, the Memory Wall, our streaming and broadcasting channels, Grief Talk Magazine, the Grief First Aid course, the GGN Practitioner Directory, and the GGN Educator Directory, we connect grieving people with community, information, and care.

The program follows four simple steps that run through every module:

An important note before you begin. This is an education program. It is not crisis care, clinical treatment, counseling, or a substitute for professional help. If you or someone you love is in crisis in the United States, call or text 988. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Take breaks as you need them, and reach out if any part of this brings up pain for you.

Modules

Plus: Crisis Resources page and a Final Assessment.

About this program

Program Overview

Program name

GGN Secondary Grief and Compassion Fatigue: Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others. A GGN education program leading to the Global Grief Network Certification.

What this program is

A self-paced course of about 6 hours.
Plain-language education written for grieving people, supporters, and practitioners.
Practical, original GGN practices, fictional stories, reflection prompts, and quizzes.

What this program is not

It is not crisis care. In a crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 for immediate danger.
It is not mental health treatment or counseling.
It does not diagnose any condition.
It does not diagnose burnout, depression, or any other condition.

Who This Program Is For

Family caregivers and friends who support grieving people.
Health, social care, education, faith, and emergency workers.
Grief educators, peer supporters, volunteers, and other practitioners.

There are no prerequisites.

Format and Time

Module	Title	Time
1	The Cost of Caring	1 hour
2	Warning Signs in Supporters	1 hour
3	Boundaries and Sustainable Care	1 hour
4	Restoring Capacity	1 hour
5	Grief and Meaning in Caring Work	1 hour
6	Practitioner and Team Takeaways	1 hour

Each module has objectives, lessons, a GGN practice, a fictional story, reflection prompts, and a quiz. A final assessment, a crisis resources page, and the Global Grief Network Certification complete the program.

A note on safety and care

This program follows safe messaging practice. It does not include graphic detail or describe methods of harm, and it centers hope, help-seeking, and connection. All stories and cases are fictional and were written by the Global Grief Network. If you need to stop, please do, and come back when you are ready.