Global Grief Network · Specialized and Advanced Program
GGN Cumulative Grief and Multiple Losses: When Losses Pile Up
Understand how repeated losses can stack up, affect energy, relationships, and recovery, and learn ways to make room for each loss and rebuild capacity.
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.
Sometimes loss does not arrive alone. One death follows another, or a loss comes on top of illness, a move, a job change, or a hard season in a community. When losses pile up, there may be no time to grieve one before the next arrives.
This program is for people carrying many losses, the people who support them, and practitioners who see repeated loss in their work. It explains how losses can compound, why capacity can shrink, and practical ways to make room for each loss and rebuild.
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.
GGN Cumulative Grief and Multiple Losses: When Losses Pile Up. 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 measure or compare how much loss someone has had.
Who This Program Is For
People who have experienced several losses close together or over time.
Family members, friends, and community leaders in communities facing repeated loss.
Grief educators, peer supporters, health and care workers, and other practitioners.
There are no prerequisites.
Format and Time
Module
Title
Time
1
When Losses Pile Up
1 hour
2
Emotional Capacity and the Body
1 hour
3
Untangling Many Losses
1 hour
4
Relationships Under Strain
1 hour
5
Recovery and Rebuilding
1 hour
6
Practitioner 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.
