Global Grief Network · Mental Wellness Literacy

GGN Lantern: Mental Wellness Literacy for Grief

Noticing, talking, and connecting when grief and mental health meet

A Global Grief Network program

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A Welcome from the Global Grief Network

When someone we love dies, the people around us often notice the grief right away. What is harder to notice is the moment when grief starts to carry something else with it: weeks of sleeplessness that will not lift, a heaviness that hardens into hopelessness, drinking that quietly increases, or a friend who stops answering the phone.

The Global Grief Network (GGN) was founded by Tony Lynch 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.

GGN Lantern is our mental wellness literacy program for grieving people, families, friends, and community members. A lantern does not cure the dark. It helps you see the path, notice who is on it with you, and find the way to people who can help. That is what this program teaches: how to recognize when grief and mental health concerns may be meeting, how to talk about it with care, and how to connect someone to professional help and crisis lines.

An important note before you begin. GGN Lantern is an educational program. It does not teach you to diagnose, assess, or treat any mental health condition, and completing it does not make you a counselor or clinician. It teaches you to notice, to talk, to connect, and to stay. If you or someone you know is in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Modules

About this program

Program Overview

Program name

GGN Lantern: Mental Wellness Literacy for Grief. Certificate of Completion program.

About the name

The term "mental health literacy" was introduced by Australian researcher Anthony Jorm and colleagues in 1997 to describe knowledge and beliefs about mental health that help people recognize concerns and seek appropriate help. GGN Lantern applies that general idea to the specific setting of grief. It is an original GGN program and is not affiliated with, adapted from, or a substitute for any other organization's mental health training course.

What this program is

A short, self-paced course of about 9 hours that helps participants:

Understand that grief is a natural response to loss, not a mental illness, while recognizing that grief and mental health concerns can overlap.
Notice changes in mood, behavior, functioning, and safety that suggest a grieving person may need more support.
Start caring, respectful conversations about mental health without judgment or pressure.
Connect people to the right kind of help: primary care, licensed mental health professionals, grief support, and crisis lines.
Respond to possible suicide risk by asking directly, staying close, and connecting to 988 or 911.
Keep supporting someone over time while caring for their own wellbeing.

What this program is not

It is not a clinical training, and it does not teach diagnosis, assessment, or treatment of any condition.
It is not counseling or mental health treatment, and it does not prepare anyone to provide counseling or treatment.
It is not a license or professional credential. The certificate recognizes completion of an educational course.
It is not a crisis service. In a crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.

The GGN Lantern in one picture

The program is built around four Lantern steps that you will practice in every module:

Lantern step	What it means
See	Notice changes that matter, using observations rather than labels.
Open	Open a caring conversation, and listen more than you speak.
Bridge	Build a bridge to professional help and crisis lines, and help the person cross it.
Stay	Stay connected over time, and look after yourself as a supporter.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of GGN Lantern, participants will be able to:

Explain the difference between expected grief and situations where grief may be joined by a mental health concern, without diagnosing.
Describe observable changes in mood, thinking, behavior, functioning, and safety that suggest a grieving person may need professional support.
Use the four Lantern steps (See, Open, Bridge, Stay) to guide a supportive response.
Begin and sustain a caring conversation about mental health using respectful, nonjudgmental language that fits the person's culture and beliefs.
Identify kinds of professional help and community support, and explain how to make a warm connection to them.
Recognize suicide warning signs, ask directly about suicide, and connect a person to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or to 911 when there is immediate danger.
Maintain supportive contact over time and set healthy limits as a family member, friend, or community helper.

Who This Program Is For

Grieving people who want to understand their own mental wellness after a loss.
Families, partners, and friends supporting someone who is grieving.
Faith community members, neighbors, coaches, teachers, and volunteers.
Employers, managers, and coworkers who want to respond well when a colleague is bereaved.
GGN community members, Memory Wall contributors, and app users.

There are no prerequisites. The GGN Grief First Aid course is a helpful companion but is not required.

Format and Time

GGN Lantern is self-paced and online, with this handbook as a companion. Most people finish in two to four weeks.

Module	Title	Time
1	When Grief and Mental Health Meet	1.5 hours
2	See: Noticing the Changes That Matter	1.5 hours
3	Open: Starting a Caring Conversation	1.5 hours
4	Bridge: Connecting to Professional Help	1.5 hours
5	When It Is Urgent: Suicide Risk and Crisis Lines	1.5 hours
6	Stay: Walking Alongside Over Time	1 hour
	Final assessment	0.5 hours
	Total	About 9 hours

How to Use This Handbook

Each module contains objectives, a lesson, a GGN practice, a fictional story, reflection prompts, and a short quiz. Quiz answers with explanations appear in the appendix. The online course site contains the same lessons, interactive quizzes, and a progress tracker saved on your own device.

Care while learning. This material may bring up your own grief or worries about someone you love. You can pause at any time. If you feel unsafe or are thinking about harming yourself, in the United States call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911. Outside the United States, contact your local emergency number or crisis line.