Grief Support Services Facilitator Training - Duluth, MN - Online

St. Mary’s Grief Support Services

Bereavement Support Group

VIRTUAL Facilitator training

Date: March 26-27, 2026

Time: 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (15 contact hours)

Location: This training will be done Virtually

Description:

The purpose of the Bereavement Support Group Facilitator Training Program is to train those who will be developing and facilitating bereavement support groups. This comprehensive program is designed to teach participants about the grief and bereavement process, facilitation skills, group process and learn how to develop and organize a support group.

Intended Audience:

This program is intended for social workers, healthcare professionals, chaplains, educators, funeral directors or other individuals seeking to develop a grief support group or those who are currently facilitating one.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this program participants will be able to:

 TRAINERS:

Gina Dixon, M.A., L.P. is the Program Manager with Essentia Health St. Mary’s Grief Support Services and has worked as a grief therapist and death educator for more than 30 years. Gina provides life-threatening illness and bereavement counseling with individuals and families and facilitates bereavement support groups for children, adolescents, and adults including those specific to suicide loss. Gina also leads PEER support groups for medical staff impacted by the death of a patient or other critical incidents. She gives presentations on grief, loss, and trauma response on local, regional, and national levels. Gina has served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President for the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). Her previous service includes co-chairing ADEC’s Hospital Based Bereavement Program SIG. She has also been selected to participate as a member of WIT, Women in Thanatology, which is a unique group of women leaders in the field of death, dying and bereavement from across the United States.

Pete Butz, MSW, LICSW is a grief psychotherapist with St. Mary’s Grief Support Services. Pete provides outpatient one-on-one therapy for teens and adults and serves as a co-facilitator for the Young Person’s bereavement groups (6-12 years old) and Teens Can Cope (13-18 years old) groups. He also provides grief support for inpatients in interdisciplinary collaboration with other Essentia staff.

The training will also include a panel of current Essentia Health Grief Support Group Facilitators including Tim Berdahl MSW, MDiv.