The Art of Grief Tending
A compassionate, inspiring and practical programme for those feeling called to hold space for grief in their work, family and community.
May cohort - new dates added
We envision a world where every village, community and organisation has someone confident to hold space for grief and able to offer a grief ritual where needed.
The calling
why have we created this programme?
We are in turbulent times, both individually and collectively.
Grief and loss touch us all and yet as a collective we are so ill-equipped to navigate this difficult terrain.
This foundational lack of grief literacy is the aftermath of centuries of colonisation and forgotten indigenous ways. But slowly the embers are reigniting.
Embracing and reclaiming grief rituals will be essential for navigating ecological change and humanitarian crises, alongside healing our own personal and ancestral grief and traumas.
This work has never been more needed.
We are remembering the lost art of grief tending. A way of being and relating in community, ceremony and song that was once deep in our bones.
We are finding our way back to welcoming grief as an inevitable part of being human and cultivating the elders, guides and stewards to hold people through these deep initiations.
We need you – the healing practitioners, facilitators, therapists, death doulas, artists and activists – to bring grief tending to your clients, colleagues, family and friends.
Together we can create a space to grieve in every community.
The invitation
is this course for you?
Practitioners, space-holders, coaches, and therapists who are curious to integrate grief tending practices into their existing offerings, communities and workplaces
Dreamers, visionaries, and activists who feel the potency of these times and want to deepen their understanding of grief work for collective healing
Curious self-healers, mothers, fathers and friends who are looking to share the practice of grief tending with their closest loved ones
Is this for you? We imagine this offering is for...
“If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear.”
- Joanna Macy
The programme
what can you expect?
Overview
Core container
15x online live sessions with a mix of teaching content, ritual practice and experiential grief tending
Including 8 guest teachers and workshops
Tuesdays 7-9pm BST and Wednesdays 11am - 1pm BST
Community platform to connect and collaborate with others
Additional support (included)
1x one-to-one mentoring call with Nici
100+ page written guidebook to support you craft your offering
Abundant and alive online portal with resources, rituals and opportunity for connection and collaboration
Life-long access to recordings of all the sessions
Ritual practices and guidance
Peer-to-peer support groups
Curated reading, listening, and watching resources
Ongoing alumni community
Course details
Click on the panels below to expand each section
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Anchor into your unique calling to this work and land in this programme alongside other grief tenders
Explore the history of grief tending and learn about the lineage of this work including the shoulders on which we stand
Understand the foundations of holding sacred space and the importance of the container for the depth and safety of expression
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Learn how to hold and create a ritual including preparation and after care
Call on and connect with the more than human world to create soul-crafting rituals for life
Experience and explore rituals for both individual and collective healing
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Dive into Francis Weller's gates of grief to deepen your own apprenticeship with sorrow and explore how to weave themes into your offerings
Receive a framework to help you design your own grief tending circle and events, including preparation and integration materials
Experience a grief tending circle and receive ideas for holding online circles
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Explore the origins of true leadership and uncover your unique medicine and true expression
Connect to your vision and inspiration. Explore where you feel called to bring grief work forward and how you can take the first step.
Practice leading grief work from your own authentic expression and anchor into your vision and offering
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Learn how to hold trauma informed grief spaces and simple techniques for regulating and supporting yourself and the group
Make space for the shadow side of grief so we can hold space for rage, anger, shame and guilt
Learn how to navigate challenges, projections and conflict while finding compassion and holding clear boundaries
Consider how to look after yourself in grief work, how to protect your energy and avoid burnout
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Learn how to express your voice, craft your vision and discover your unique medicine - all with practical steps to get started
Receive guidance on how to maximise social media and newsletter channels with joy and ease
Anchor into your vision and mission to become a torcher bearer for generations to come
Build community, share resources and support each other as we venture forward together
Your teachers
Guest teachers are subject to change.
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Nici Harrison
Your guide and mentor throughout the programme
Nici is a grief tending facilitator, writer and speaker. She founded The Grief Space in 2019 as a place to explore the duet of wonder and grief. This training has emerged from years of facilitating grief rituals, and offering grief tending practices. She believes passionately that now is the time to gather and cultivate a community of grief tenders.
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Jewels Wingfield
Sitting in the fears and shadows of grief work
Jewels is a powerful catalyst for human evolution through her deep embodied wisdom. She has been holding grief ceremonies for many years having trained with Joanna Macy, Sobonfu Some and Francis Weller. Jewels can meet the wild edges of transformation both personally and collectively – she knows the landscapes that lie on the other side of such a shift.
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Camille Sapara Barton
Weaving embodied social justice, grief and somatics
Camille Sapara Barton is a writer, embodiment facilitator and movement artist that supports organisations to flow through transitions. Their work creates relational wellbeing by increasing connection to the body, care practices, grief and imagination. Camille is the author of Tending Grief: Embodied Rituals for Holding Our Sorrow and Growing Cultures of Care in Community (2024).
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Isla Macleod
Create soul-crafting ritual for life
Isla Macleod is a ceremonialist, ritual designer, author and companion at thresholds, supporting others through life transitions and creating a soulful life. Her work is devoted to restoring the Sacred and healing our relationship with the more-than-human world. Isla was inspired to facilitate grief tending ceremonies after her own journey with grief revealed its power and potential to awaken more love and gratitude.
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Sophy Banks
Experience an online grief tending circle
Sophy has worked as an engineer, psychotherapist and activist. For many years she led the inner dimension of the global Transition Towns movement. Sophy’s understanding of the importance of shared grief work started through attending workshops of Joanna Macy, Sobonfu Some and Maeve Gavin. She is lead facilitator and organiser of Grief Tending in Community, and founder of Healthy Human Culture
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Holiday Phillips
Cultivate your own unique expression of leadership
Holiday is an expert in leadership, inclusion and belonging. Her work is devoted to understanding and creating the conditions for bridging differences, healing polarisation and moving from conflict to connection. She is co-Founder of Human Work, an initiation experience for adults. She has been featured on TEDx with her talk - ‘Grief as Activism’ .
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Xochi Balfour
Understand the foundations of holding space
Xochi a feminine spirituality guide and author, working with embodiment, earth-based practice and sacred sisterhood. Rooting deep down in nature's embrace, she supports people to connect to the deep wisdom alive in our core. Guiding us back to our innermost truth, she helps others walk the earth here and now with trust, authenticity and sovereignty.
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Deborah Madison
Resourcing yourself to creating a sustainable offering
Deborah is a TRE® (Tension & Trauma Release Exercises) and Breathwork facilitator. Deborah is a Trainer with the Breathing Journeys School of Breathwork. Deborah loves to share her understanding of the nervous system with practitioners to become not only skilled professionals, but to dive profoundly into their own healing journey.
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Alice Carder
Step into your power and lead a soulful business
Alice supports soul-led leaders to grow their businesses, wealth and themselves in a way that prioritises financial and embodied freedom, and serves people and planet. Alice has walked a path of deep personal initiation, which is reflected in the space she holds for individual and collective evolution.
– Charlotte, October 2024 cohort
“I have always held deep respect for Nici’s work and her heartfelt approach, but nothing could have prepared me for just how extraordinary The Art of Grief Tending has been so far.
Although we’re only halfway through, each session is a sacred space I look forward to—not just for what I will learn but for the experience of being held in such a thoughtful, intentional container.
As someone who loves to learn, I invest a lot of my time, energy, and resources into courses. I can honestly say this is one of the most impactful programmes I’ve ever taken. It doesn’t feel like a typical course; it feels like an apprenticeship.
Nici’s generosity as a teacher is rare—she shares her knowledge and wisdom so openly, creating a space that is both inspiring and deeply enriching. The special guest sessions have also been a highlight, each one offering unique perspectives that have further deepened my understanding and capacity as a space holder.
This journey has already been transformative, and I can’t wait to see where it will lead."
Booking
£2250
Early bird 10% off if booked before 31st March. Not applicable to payment plan options.
Scholarships are available please see the criteria below
Questions
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We imagine this course is for people who fall into these categories...
Practitioners, space-holders, coaches, and therapists who are curious to integrate grief tending practices into their existing offerings
Dreamers, visionaries, and activists who feel the potency of these times and want to deepen their understanding of grief work for collective healing
Curious self-healers, mothers, fathers and friends who are looking to share the practice of grief tending with their closest loved ones
This programme is designed for people who have already explored a significant amount of personal development, healing work and emotional inquiry.
You will be expected to have some prior experience in offering emotional support and a capacity to hold space for others.
You are responsible for gathering the relevant training and experience for whichever contexts you choose to take grief tending into.
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This is not a programme for people who are seeking a space to process their own grief and trauma. Of course, healing will happen throughout this journey as you will be deepening your own practice of grief tending. But the emphasis is on how to hold grief tending spaces for others. If you feel like your own grief might be too raw, get in touch and we can explore together.
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We know coming together live creates the most vibrant experience, but we also understand life happens! Every session is recorded and safely stored in our online community space for you to revisit. While we strongly recommend that you join us live for most of our time together (especially that essential first session), you can catch up through recordings if needed. The journey is yours to shape, and ultimately the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.
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A deeper integration and connection to your own grief
Understanding of grief tending and its role in individual and collective healing
Skills and practices to hold and support others in grief
A deeper relationship with ritual and ceremony
A sense of empowerment to step into your own gifts as a facilitator
Becoming an informed practitioner with an understanding of grief in the context of inclusion and colonialism
An understanding of the nervous system and trauma informed space holding
Appreciation of how to hold clear boundaries and not over-give, while staying connected, so to take care of yourself in this work
Confidence to take this work out into the world with a grounded plan for marketing and getting started
A circle of people committed to collective healing who can become deep friends for life, beyond the end of the course
Connection to greater joy, intimacy and aliveness and the knowledge that you are contributing to the legacy of creating grief literacy for future generations
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The maximum number of people in the group will be 20.
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We completely understand the need to be practical. The way we see it, the world is asking for more facilitators who know how to hold grief.
Since I have been offering grief circles, people have joined from all over the world and the common thread is that they wish they had found this work sooner.
Once you’ve completed this course you will be able to integrate grief tending into your work and perhaps begin to offer your own groups and events - depending on your level of experience with holding people at depth. Offering 2-3 online groups or a weekend retreat could recoup the cost of the training.
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All the scholarship places are now taken in the May 2025 cohort
Yes, our scholarship program is designed to support those who are dedicated to this path but may face financial challenges. We are committed to inclusivity and diversity, recognising the need for varied voices and experiences in this field, particularly from communities that have faced social injustice and inequality.
Eligibility - Individuals in financial need who demonstrate a commitment to grief work, in particular those from underrepresented communities (including BIPOC, LBGTQ+ and persons with disability).
Scholarship details - The bursary will cover 40% of the course fees.
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No refunds are available once you've booked your place. If you have committed to the payment plan scheme you are required to pay all instalments.
In extenuating circumstances, you might be able to pause your attendance and join another cohort.
Still not quite sure if it’s right for you? Book a call with Nici.
Dates for your diary
We have two cohorts starting w/c 5th May 2025. Please see all dates and times below.
Tuesdays: 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Chapter one
Tuesday 6th May 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 23th May 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 20th May 2025 19.00 - 20.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter two
Tuesday 27th May 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 3rd June 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 10th & 17th June 2025 19.00 - 20.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter three
Tuesday 24th June 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 1st July 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 8th July 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 15th July 2025 19.00 - 20.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter four
Tuesday 22nd July 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 29th July 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 5th August 2025 19.00 - 20.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter five
Tuesday 12th August 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 19th August 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 26th August 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 2nd September 2025 19.00 - 20.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter six
Tuesday 9th September 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Tuesday 16th September 2025 19.00 - 21.00 BST
Wedesndays: 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Chapter one
Wednesday 7th May 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 14th May 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 21st May 2025 11.00 - 12.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter two
Wednesday 28th May 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 4th June 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 11th & 18th June 2025 11.00 - 12.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter three
Wednesday 25th June 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 2nd July 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 9th July 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 16th July 2025 11.00 - 12.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter four
Wednesday 23rd July 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 30th July 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 6th August 2025 11.00 - 12.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter five
Wednesday 13th August 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 20th August 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 27th August 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 3rd September 2025 11.00 - 12.30 BST (optional peer to peer integration)
Chapter six
Wednesday 10th September 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
Wednesday 17th September 2025 11.00 - 13.00 BST
“We have entered what could be called The Long Dark, a time of endings, decay, and dissolution. It will be a prolonged season—a generation or two—during which the earth community will undergo tremendous challenges and the cumulative losses will touch everything and everyone. Grief will be the keynote for the foreseeable future.”
— Francis Weller