Grief Facilitator

This onboarding pathway equips Grief Facilitators with clarity, confidence, and a shared language of care, ensuring every facilitator is prepared to hold space with wisdom, compassion, and professional integrity.

The experience blends relational formation, trauma-informed training, supervised guidance, and mission alignment, culminating in a shared activation experience that launches each facilitator into safe, structured, and restorative service within Northern Star.

Phase 1: Welcome, Alignment & Orientation

1. Formal Welcome & Acceptance

• Official Serving Appointment Letter

• Role Description & Expectations

2. Mission, Vision & Culture Alignment

• Founders’ Story & Organizational Origin

• Mission, Vision, Purpose & Culture Code

• Strategic Priorities & Community Impact Focus

3. Orientation Class

• Facilitator Roles & Boundaries

• Fiduciary Duties: Care & Unity

• Facilitator Structure & Decision-Making Flow

Phase 2: Certification

SOC111: Children and Grief

1. Understanding Childhood Grief

◦ How children understand death at different developmental stages
◦ Common emotional and behavioral responses to loss
◦ Myths and misconceptions about grieving children
◦ Recognizing anticipatory grief and complex grief

2. Supporting Children Through Loss

◦ Age-appropriate communication strategies
◦ Creating safe spaces for expression
◦ Validating emotions without minimizing pain
◦ Helping children separate identity from traumatic experience

3. Recognizing Trauma & Complicated Grief

◦ Warning signs requiring additional intervention
◦ When to refer to licensed professionals
◦ Maintaining facilitator boundaries
◦ Ethical and mandated reporting awareness

4. Certificate Assessment

◦ Completion of all course modules
◦ Passing score required per CEI standards
◦ Retakes allowed per provider guidelines

Phase 3: 3-Week Immersion & Shadowing

Week 1: Understanding Village Culture in Action

Observing Safe & Relational Environments

◦ Shadow a live mentorship session, circle, or family program
◦ Observe how emotional safety is established and maintained
◦ Identify how mentors practice active listening
◦ Watch how boundaries are modeled in real time
◦ Notice how facilitators separate behavior from identity
◦ Reflect on how Village values guide every interaction

Guided Debrief (30 minutes):
Processing emotional tone, safety, and relational presence.

Week 2: Understanding the Role of a Village Mentor

Clarity, Boundaries, and Responsibility

◦ Shadow a mentor check-in or structured engagement activity
◦ Observe how trust is built over time
◦ Identify appropriate mentor vs. counselor boundaries
◦ Learn escalation pathways for safety concerns
◦ Clarify expectations regarding consistency and commitment
◦ Review documentation and communication protocols

Guided Debrief (30 minutes):
Role clarity. Boundaries. Accountability. Safeguarding youth.

Week 3: From Observation to Engagement

Focus: Supervised Mentor Participation

Participants will:

◦ Participate in a supervised mentoring interaction
◦ Practice active listening and reflective responses
◦ Engage in age-appropriate conversation techniques
◦ Demonstrate emotional regulation and non-reactive presence
◦ Receive real-time coaching and feedback

Final Debrief & Evaluation (45 minutes): Readiness assessment, strengths identified, growth areas, and place

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