When Grief Enters the Coaching Room, Will You Know How to Respond?
A practical workshop to help you support a grieving client with confidence, care, and appropriate boundaries—without becoming a grief specialist or turning coaching into therapy.
Thursday, October 8, 2026 · 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Pacific
Live on Zoom · Replay included · Limited to 20 coaches
Dear fellow coach,
Grief has a way of entering the room before it is named. A client may arrive with a goal, yet beneath it is a loss that has changed their pace, identity, or sense of what comes next.
In those moments, even deeply compassionate coaches can feel uncertain. We wonder whether to ask, whether to wait, whether to encourage movement—or whether the client needs a different kind of support.
This workshop was created to help you stay present, respond responsibly, and protect both the humanity of the moment and the integrity of the coaching relationship.
Kimberly Haynes, PCC
Certified Grief Educator · Coach Educator
Six practical skills you’ll begin using immediately
Not a script for perfect words—a grounded framework for recognizing grief and responding with greater steadiness and care.
Recognize grief beneath everyday coaching issues
Notice when procrastination, lost motivation, indecision, relationship strain, identity disruption, or difficulty imagining the future may be connected to loss.
- Look beneath the presenting goal or problem
- Recognize changes in capacity, pace, confidence, and priorities
Recognize loss beyond bereavement
Understand how grief can accompany divorce, illness, caregiving, estrangement, infertility, retirement, relocation, career loss, changes in faith, and unrealized futures.
- Notice ambiguous and non-death losses
- Avoid assumptions about which losses “should” cause grief
Validate without minimizing, fixing, or over-reassuring
Learn the difference between compassionate validation and responses that unintentionally dismiss the client’s experience.
- Recognize platitudes, silver linings, and spiritual bypassing
- Notice your own understandable urge to make the client feel better
Know what to say, what to ask, and when to leave space
Practice permission-based questions, supportive language, and thoughtful silence that allow the client to choose what belongs in the conversation.
- Use compassionate phrases and questions in real time
- Repair the conversation when your words do not land as intended
Support forward movement without rushing grief
Help the client redefine progress when grief has changed their energy, priorities, or sense of what is possible.
- Adjust expectations and develop smaller, workable next steps
- Make room for movement between loss and restoration
Maintain coaching boundaries and refer responsibly
Strengthen your discernment about what belongs in coaching, what may require additional support, and how to refer without shame or alarm.
- Distinguish coaching from therapy, diagnosis, and treatment
- Recognize referral signs and use compassionate referral language
Your workshop experience
- The live two-hour workshop on Zoom
- A practical participant workbook
- The approved When a Client Is Grieving five-minute cheat sheet
- Realistic coaching scenarios and language examples
- Live questions and answers with Kimberly
- A recording of the workshop for replay
This workshop is for you if…
- You are a life, relationship, divorce, wellness, spiritual, executive, career, or other non-clinical coach
- You want to feel more confident when a client reveals a loss
- You care about supporting clients without overstepping your role
- You want practical language you can use in real conversations
Frequently asked questions
Do I need previous grief training?
No. This workshop is specifically designed for coaches who are not grief specialists.
What if I cannot attend live?
Your registration includes the workshop replay.
Is this a certification?
No. This educational workshop does not certify you as a grief counselor or mental-health professional, provide licensure, or authorize diagnosis or treatment.
Will this qualify for ICF continuing-education credit?
No continuing-education credit is being claimed or offered for this founding workshop.
How many participants will be admitted?
The founding workshop is limited to 20 participants so there is room for thoughtful questions and discussion.
Meet the moment with greater confidence and care.
Join this intimate founding workshop and strengthen the way you respond—compassionately, responsibly, and within the scope of coaching.
Thursday, October 8, 2026 · 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Pacific · Zoom · Replay included
Educational content only. This workshop is not therapy, mental-health treatment, crisis care, professional licensure, or certification as a grief counselor or mental-health professional. Coaches remain responsible for practicing within their own training, credentials, ethical obligations, and applicable laws.
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