Grief Accompaniment
Grief can be found wherever love is, because everything we love we will lose. This is a basic condition of existence, yet most of us go through our lives in denial of this truth because we have been denied the tools and support to face it. We honor that which we love by feeling the pain of what we have lost, are losing, or will lose. When we lack the support to feel this grief and instead suppress it (which will not make it go away, as much as we may hope), we inevitably also suppress our capacity to love and our bodies inherent ability to renew itself. These grief accompaniment sessions seek to create the conditions for feelings to arise that you may not have had the space or support to let arise before.
​All forms of grief are welcome - for the loss of who or what we love, the parts of ourselves that have not known love, the sorrows of the world, the things we deserve but did not receive, the harm we've caused, the inherited grief of our ancestors or beloveds, and more. You need not even know what grief you are carrying to sign-up.
​​
The basis of these sessions is me supporting you in the ongoing process of embodied inquiry - listening to your body and trusting what it is telling you. Song, vocal expression, movement, somatic exercises, gentle touch, connection with your spiritual beliefs, and more can be brought in to support you. Your agency and choice is of utmost importance.
​​
Sessions last 90 - 120 minutes and you are encouraged to plan for some spacious and restful time afterwards to help integrate. Sessions are done out of my home in Jamaica Plain.
​
Multi-session packages also include:
-
a voice note check-in over WhatsApp between sessions to help integrate.
-
optional short readings between sessions to deepen your theoretical and spiritual understandings of grief.
My understandings of grief and how to work with it are informed by:
​
-
My apprenticeship to elena elizabeth in the Strozzi Institute lineage of Somatics & her style of somatic accompaniment
-
My study and practice of Dagara cosmology and ritual under and alongside initiated elder Ukumbwa Sauti
-
The writings of Malidoma & Sobonfu Somé, Francis Weller, Martin Prechtel, Ahlay Blakely, and my deceased paternal grandfather Ron Mudd, a hospice chaplain
-
An emerging understanding and relationship with the ancient Celtic practice of Keening, primarily through the course by Weaving Remembrance
-
Various practice & support groups of grief tenders holding space for each other
-
My own relationship with grieving and my continual learning process of how to create conditions for it to be honored in my life
​​​​
Note that I am not a licensed therapist and these sessions are not meant to be a substitute for professional mental health counseling. If you are in an active state of trauma and unable to self-regulate, this may not be the best fit for you. ​There are also some situations in which your grief may be better supported by one of my collaborators, by a partnership between myself and a collaborator, or in a community grief ritual.
​​
Please schedule a free consultation before booking a session so that we can get to know each other and talk through any questions.​​
Who I Work With
I have experience supporting people of many age, gender, sexuality, racial, and class backgrounds.
​
I have a keen interest in supporting men & masculine folk in their grieving process, and am well-equipped to do so through years of experience in men's groups & leading men's grief rituals.​
​
"Through Jordan’s grief work I found the strength to navigate some deeply challenging experiences of loss and heartbreak that had been consuming my life for years. As I entered the experience I thought I would be sad about those that had passed. But I quickly discovered that my grief was actually from my deep and powerful experience of love that had gone unmet.
Jordan was able to hold space for this soft and vulnerable experience that kept me tethered to the past unable to move forward with an open heart. He held space for me in a way that allowed me to be with the tenderness and grief that I had not known how to access or allow to exist. By the end of our work together I had regained hope and faith that love is there for me in this world, and that my love will be met ~ when the time is right."
- Grief Accompaniment Client
Grief Accompaniment Single Session
200
One 90 - 120 minute session
Valid for one month
Grief Accompaniment 4-Session Package
700
- Four 90 - 120 minute sessions
- WhatsApp check-ins between sessions
- Optional readings supplied
Valid for 3 months
Rates
Note on Money & Access
In special cases, I offer discounted or pay-what-you-can grief accompaniment services to those most impacted by racial capitalism, and those on the frontlines of movements for liberation & justice.
Resources on Grief
​
-
"Em​bracing Grief" [Article] - Sobonfu Somé
-
"Ritual: Power, Healing, and Community" [Book] - Malidoma Somé
-
"The Wild Edge of Sorrow" [Book] - Francis Weller
-
"The Smell of Rain on Dust" [Book] - Martin Prechtel
-
"WAILS" [Ceremonial Album] - Ahlay Blakely