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Lisa Athan is the Executive Director and founder
of Grief Speaks. Lisa has over 20 years of experience in communicating educational and inspirational information to
adults, teens and children. Her speciality is facilitating workshops and training programs on grief and
loss. Lisa is able to communicate with passion, compassion and humor. She explains that grief is not only about
death but divorce, job loss, pet loss, moving, bullying, living with someone who is ill or addicted, having someone in the
family incarcerated, loss of home and more. Lisa has a Master's degree in Education and Counseling and is a Grief Recovery Specialist. Lisa serves on the Traumatic Loss Coalition for Youth as a Lead Responder in Union, Essex and Middlesex Counties. Lisa also is a volunteer healing circle leader and screener for Comfort Zone Camp, the world's largest bereavement camp for children and teens. Lisa worked at Fair Oaks Hospital in the outpatient recovery unit working with people dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. Lisa also worked at The Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders. While there, Lisa ran groups for people dealing with eating disorders and their parents. Lisa worked at Overlook Hospital on the in-patient psychiatric unit as a counselor and facilitated daily group therapy, and met hundreds of teens and adults suffering with unacknowledged and unresolved grief which often presented itself through addictions, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, psychosis, self injurious behavior, and suicide attempts. Lisa realized that a significant amount of the patients admitted to the hospital's psychiatric unit had experienced multiple losses either in childhood or recently, whether it was a death of a significant person, loss of relationship through divorce, loss of purpose or identity through retirement, loss of job, estrangement in relationships, domestic violence, moving, emotional, sexual or physical abuse as a child, a past traumatic experience, bullying, abandonment or other secondary losses as a result of their addictions or depression or other symptomatology. There were also many patients with a mental health disorder who had needed immediate stabilization and aftercare follow up. Lisa also served as the Coordinator of Education and Outreach for Good Grief. Good Grief is a resource for grieving children, teens and their families. This non-profit organization provides free, year round peer support programs for children, teens and adults coping with loss due to death. Lisa led 4 thirty hour facilitator training sessions for Good Grief. Lisa
is currently a Healing Circle Leader and Screener for Comfort Zone Camp. Comfort Zone Camp is a free bereavement camp that
is located in 5 states and open for children ages 7-17 who have lost a parent or sibling through death. www.comfortzonecamp.org Lisa is a knowledgeable, engaging
and compassionate grief educator who specializes in speaking with adults and young people about grief and loss. Her
passion is to normalize grief and loss in our grief avoiding and "get over it" society. Lisa helps people voice
their thoughts and feelings about their losses. Lisa creates a safe space and teaches others to do the same which enables people
to acknowledge, identify and express their grief. She teaches healthy ways to identify, handle and express the normal and
natural feelings and thoughts that follow a loss of any type. Lisa teaches that everyone grieves in their own time and in
their own way. Children and teenagers grieve differently than adults do. This information is vital for adults who wish to
guide and support a grieving child or student. Lisa Athan speaks to students,
K -12th and college students, in their classrooms as well as in assemblies. Students write Lisa letters thanking her for "changing
their lives" "helping them to speak up to an adult about their depression or anxiety" "giving them the
knowledge about normal grief reactions signs that more help may be necessary". Lisa has spoken to many adult groups in many different venues
such as schools, service organizations, hospitals, assisted living communities, companies, police and fire departments, first
aid squads, agencies, religious affiliations, support groups, parent groups, and more. Lisa's programs leave
participants with a wealth of knowledge, skills and tools and a deeper respect and understanding for the
grieving and healing process. People will "get" the value of listening to a griever and the value of finding
the words for our experiences, losses and feelings. The importance of finding healthy ways to express those feelings and thoughts
is key to Lisa's message along with the understanding that grief is unique to each person. No two people grieve in the
same exact way. Lisa helps people find helpful ways to deal with anniversaries, special days and other very personal times
of remembrance of a loved one who has died. Audiences come away with an understanding of what they can do when a loved one
is dying or ill, how they can create memory books, suggestions of how many others have learned to include the memories of
a deceased loved one, in their present celebrations if they choose. It was while working in the in-patient psychiatric setting of a hospital that Lisa believes that we all need people to share our loss experiences with who are safe and non-judgemental. With out permission to grieve, we may pretend we are okay and "over it" in order to gain the approval of others who want or need us to be "back to normal". People also need to find healthy ways to express their feelings as well and to learn how to integrate their losses into their lives as they gradually learn to adopt a "new normal". Lisa is the proud mother of four wonderful children of her own ages 11, 13,16 and 20 as well as being a step-mother to three great young women ages 16, 22,and 24. She is married to her wonderful husband, Scott Strickland. They share their home with two dogs and five cats. Lisa has been trained by the Glasser Institute in Choice Theory, Lead Management and Peaceful Parenting. Lisa has trained and became certified as a Grief Recovery Specialist with the Grief Recovery Institute in California. Lisa has been trained in Post
Traumatic Stress Management through the Traumatic Loss Coalition for Youth, by Robert Macy, PhD. Lisa completed
two full days on Protocol of Handling a Suicide or Homicide for the School Setting. She serves on the Union
County, Essex and Middlesex County Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth : School and Community Based Responders.
Lisa also serves as a volunteer for Comfort Zone Camp, a camp for grieving children ages 7-17. Lisa also serves on the advisory
board of Good Grief, as well as being a speaking consultant. Trauma and Grief in Youth Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training Strategies to Reduce Youth Violence Disaster Management and Psychological First Aid
Columbine Ten Years After: The State of Threat Assessment in Our Schools EMDR, Grief and Trauma Different Ways of Grieving, Different Ways of Healing Union County Gang Prevention Symposium Creating Meaningful Memorials by William Hoy, ADEC Approaches to the Relief of Suffering Is it Anger or Is it Abuse? Assessment and Interventions: domestic
violence and anger management Diversity and End of Life Care Beyond Survival: Empowering Female Trauma Victims Why Some Bounce Back and Some Never Do: Resilience in Children who Have Experienced Childhood Abuse The Prevalence of HIV/AIDS Among Today's Youth and Adults Over 50 Introduction to Art Therapy Children of Substance Abusers Grief, Trauma and PTSD Grief and EMDR The School's Response to Suicide |
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