Adult Support Groups

Adult Support

We have learned over the years that while each person’s grief journey is experienced differently, grief is not meant to be experienced alone.  At COJ, our Adult Support Groups are designed to accompany anyone navigating the death of a loved one, offering them refuge as they navigate their grief while learning to rebuild their ‘new normal.’ Our groups are facilitated by trained staff or volunteer bereavement specialists with similar loss experiences and are offered at no cost to participants.

We approach bereavement support holistically through interactive, hands-on activities and conversations where adults find connection and are gifted with space to process and share feelings as they’re ready. In addition to monthly and bi-monthly group sessions, COJ’s adult programming offers printed and digital educational resources; tailored activities for bereaved adults; and healing events and activities.

COJ Adult Support Groups Include:

  • Bereaved Parent Group
  • Grief to Peace with Spring Grove Funeral Homes
  • Hope and Healing After Suicide Loss
  • Men in Grief with Spring Grove Funeral Homes
  • Caring for Your Grieving Soul
  • Widowed Support Groups
  • Widowed Grief Support – New Adventures Group
  • Individual Facilitations
  • Pathway to Healing Events

 If you would like assistance in finding the right group for you, please call our office at 513-870-9108 and we would be happy to assist you.

Bereaved Parent Group for Loss of Child

The Bereaved Parent Support Group provides support for parents who have suffered the death of a child, regardless of their age at death. This group provides a safe space for grieving parents to connect, share stories, and discover hope, strength, and healing.

  • Meets: 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, 6:30-8:00 PM, Sept-May (note, group will meet on 1/18/25 instead of 1/1/25)
  • Meets: 3rd Wednesday of the month, 6:30-8:00 PM, June, July, & August
  • COJ’s Conference Room*, 8857 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite #002, West Chester, OH 45069

*COJ’s conference room is located in the lower level of the building and requires navigating down one flight of stairs.  It is not handicap accessible.

Caring for Your Grieving Soul - Open Grief Support Group

Caring for Your Grieving Soul is an open grief group designed to offer support to adults who have suffered the death of a loved one. Surrounded with love and support, this grief support group offers you the opportunity to connect with other adults who understand the heartache of losing a loved one. Together, we help individuals to restore balance and find hope, strength, and healing.

Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 11000 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 44249

  • Meets: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 6-7:30 pm

Grief to Peace in Partnership with Spring Grove Funeral Homes

Surrounded with love and support, this grief support group is hosted by Spring Grove Funeral Homes and facilitated by Companions on a Journey. Together, we help individuals to restore balance and find hope, strength, and healing. In-person and virtual options to attend are available.

 

  • In-person: 3rd Tuesday of the month, 6-7:30 pm at Spring Grove Funeral Homes, 4389 Spring Grove Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45232
  • Virtual: 4th Tuesday of the month, 6-7:30 pm (no group on 12/24)

Hope & Healing After Suicide Loss Support Group

Hope & Healing After Suicide Loss Support Group offers the opportunity to connect with other adults who understand the heartache of losing a loved one to suicide. Surrounded with love and support, together we help individuals to restore balance and find hope, strength, and healing.

  • Meets from 6:30-8:00 PM on the 1st Tuesday of the month (note, group will meet 11/12 instead of 11/5 due to Election Day)
  • Boys and Girls Club of West Chester/Liberty, 8748 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, West Chester Township, OH 45069

 

Men in Grief Support Group with Spring Grove Funeral Homes

It can be extremely challenging and isolating to be a man in grief. This grief support group is a safe place to be open and communicate about these challenges with other men who know the pain of losing a loved one. This support group is hosted by Spring Grove Funeral Homes and facilitated by Companions on a Journey.

  • Meets: 4th Tuesday of the month, 6-7:30 pm (no group on 12/24)
  • Spring Grove Funeral Homes (Tri-County), 11285 Princeton Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45246

 

Young Widowed Grief Support

Surrounded with love and support, this grief support group offers the opportunity to connect with other individuals (ages 20-64) who understand the heartache of losing a spouse. Together, we help individuals to restore balance and find hope, strength, and healing. Note that age is a guideline. We welcome any widowed person to attend any of the widowed support groups.

  • Meets:  2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, 6:30-8:00 PM, Sept-May (no groups on 11/27 or 12/25)
  • Meets: 4th Wednesday of the month, 6:30-8:00 PM, June, July, & August
  • COJ’s Conference Room*, 8857 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite #002, West Chester, OH 45069

*COJ’s conference room is located in the lower level of the building and requires navigating down one flight of stairs. It is not handicap accessible.

New Beginnings Widowed Grief Support

Surrounded with love and support, this grief support group offers the opportunity to connect with other individuals (ages 65+) who understand the heartache of losing a spouse. Together, we help individuals to restore balance and find hope, strength, and healing. Note that age is a guideline. We welcome any widowed person to attend any of the widowed support groups.

 

  • Meets:  2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, 2-3:30 pm (no groups on 11/27 or 12/25)
  • St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, 5720 Hamilton Mason Rd, Liberty Township, OH 45011 (St. Patrick Conference Room)

Widowed Grief Support - Lunch Bunch

COJ’s Lunch Bunch Group is a social group for current and future members of our widowed support groups. This group offers support through a monthly lunch outing at a local restaurant.

If you are interested in attending, please use the registration button and select the New Adventures Widowed Support Group (Social Activities).  We will send reminder emails for both the lunch group and the dinner/game night events.  For questions about the lunch bunch group, please email carla@companionsonajourney.org

Widowed Grief Support - Dinner Night

This social group is for current and future members of our widowed support groups. This group offers support through a monthly dinner at a local restaurant.

If you are interested in attending, please use the registration button and select the New Adventures Widowed Support Group (Social Activities).  We will send reminder emails for both the lunch group and the dinner/game night events.  For questions about the dinner and game night, please email marianne@companionsonajourney.org

Pregnancy & Infant Loss

We offer support for parents who have suffered the death of a child through miscarriage or early infant death through our Individual and Family Consultations.  We do not currently offer an ongoing support group.  To request support, please use the button below to complete the request form for individual/family consultation.

Individual Consultation

At COJ, we offer a safe space for children, teens, adults, and families to process feelings of grief and loss.  In addition to our community programs, we offer individual consultation by phone, Zoom, or in-person.  Individual consultation consists of 1 session with one of our bereavement specialists.  To schedule these sessions, we ask that you complete the registration form below.  *The purpose of the initial consultation session is to provide support and to also determine with the client whether subsequent grief support sessions may be helpful. The initial consultation session is free of charge; subsequent sessions will be charged at the rate of $90 and will last approximately one hour.  Please note that availability for individual consultations varies depending on our current schedule.

Pathway to Healing Events for Adults

COJ hosts a variety of Pathway to Healing events throughout the year to support bereaved individuals to overcome common communication barriers, provide them with simple moments of joy in the company of others who ‘get it’, and equip them with tools for supporting one another along the grief journey. Please visit our calendar or events page for upcoming events!

COJ was there for us when we needed them most.

- COJ Bereaved Parent Support Group Participant

It has been comforting to meet and talk with (and sometimes laugh with!) people who had lost their spouses at a young age.
- COJ Young Widows Support Group Participant

COJ was a life raft in my sea of unbearable grief.
- Bereaved Father, COJ Bereaved Parents Support Group

COJ gave me a place to cry, to be heard, and to connect with people who truly knew what I was going through.

- COJ Widowed Group Participant

COJ is a blessing! They listened, cared, and let me know I was not alone!
- COJ Hope & Healing After a Suicide Loss Participant