Invictus by Genna - Grief & Loss Services

🌟🧑‍🏫🌟 Yesterday I had the privilege of serving as an invited instructor for EOLPC's Understanding Grief and Loss for Psychedelic Practitioners course for Session I. I will teach Session II next week.

Together we explored the many ways grief can show up in people's lives, including sudden and traumatic loss, disenfranchised grief, cumulative grief, anticipatory grief, and the profound ways grief can shape identity, relationships, meaning, and the nervous system. We discussed why grief is not a problem to solve, but a human experience to witness, support, and learn to carry.

On a personal note, this experience meant more to me than I can fully express. For the first time in many years, I was invited not only for my grief support work, but also for my advanced skill with curriculum development and formal teaching. It felt incredibly meaningful to step back into the classroom, facilitate discussion, share knowledge, and engage with a group of thoughtful professionals who care deeply about supporting grieving people.

I'm grateful to  and Christine Caldwell for the invitation, to the participants for their curiosity and engagement, and to everyone who continues to trust me with conversations about grief, loss, meaning-making, and healing.

Sometimes life brings us back to parts of ourselves we thought we had left behind. Yesterday reminded me how much I love teaching. Excited for Session II next week!

         Invictus by Genna | Grief & Loss Services

In my newest blog post, I write openly about something we don’t talk about enough in grief spaces: what happens when sudden and traumatic loss collides with external systems like law enforcement, investigations, legal decisions, media coverage, and public silence. There are some losses that don’t just break your heart — they alter your understanding of the world.

As both a grieving human being and a grief professional, this experience affected me in ways I did not see coming. It reminded me that traumatic grief is not just emotional — it is physical, existential, disorienting, and deeply tied to our sense of safety, fairness, and meaning.

For anyone navigating grief connected to accidents, violence, su***de, substance-related deaths, medical trauma, or complicated legal circumstances — you are not alone in the enormity of what you may be feeling.

Read here:
https://www.invictusbygenna.com/post/when-grief-collides-with-the-justice-system

Honored to be part of the 2026 Family Cancer Retreat with Cancer Services of New Mexico this weekend in Albuquerque.

I’ll be facilitating:
• Embracing Communication and Coping as the Ultimate Superhero Skills in Illness
• In This Together: A Circle of Support

Grief, illness, caregiving, and uncertainty can feel overwhelming — but none of us are meant to navigate them alone. I’m grateful for opportunities like this to create spaces where individuals and families can connect, communicate honestly, and find support in community.

Looking forward to meaningful conversations, shared stories, and reminding one another that coping is not weakness — it’s a skill, and often an act of courage. 💛

Grief is deeply woven into psychedelic and supportive care work. I’m honored to have been invited to co-teach this new four-session online course through End of Life Psychedelic Care alongside an incredible interdisciplinary team.

✨ Understanding Grief and Loss for Psychedelic Practitioners explores how grief is experienced across the brain, body, relationships, and lived experience while offering practical applications for psychedelic facilitation, integration, and group support.

Designed for psychedelic facilitators, therapists, coaches, end-of-life practitioners, and supportive care providers seeking a more grief-informed approach to their work.

📅 June 4 – June 25

🎓 Six CEs Offered

💻 Online

More information and registration here: 

https://tinyurl.com/ykc6upma

Workplace Grief: My Story Comes Full Circle
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Tonight my story came full circle in a way.

I left academia 7 years ago, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I had spent a lifetime dreaming of working at a university and being a professor, only to eventually realize that parts of academia were not what I had been taught to believe they would be. In fact, it was downright cult-like in many ways. (If you haven’t seen this TED Talk, definitely watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghAhEBH3MDw&t=386s)

There are still many things I love — and will always love — about academic institutions: the learning, the curiosity, the mentorship, the students, the discovery of knowledge, the possibility of meaningful impact. But academia can also be intensely competitive, demanding, a safe haven for bullies, contradictory, isolating, and at times deeply unhealthy and toxic for the people within it.

Walking away was painful and intimidating. It meant grieving not only a career, but an identity and a future I thought I was supposed to have. And at the time, I didn’t have a space to process that grief.

Tonight, another academic joined my Weathering the Workplace Storm grief support group.

And for a moment, I realized something quietly powerful: I was able to offer someone else the kind of space I desperately needed when I left.

There’s something deeply meaningful about turning pain into presence for others.

Some moments in this work stay with you long after a group ends. This was one of them.❤️

When David Winiecki and I created and wrote the curriculum for The Grieving Brain Support Group & Book Club for  , we hoped to build a space where people could explore grief through both lived experience and science-informed understanding — while feeling less alone in the process.

Feedback like this means so much because it reflects the honesty, courage, and connection participants bring into the room. The wisdom in these groups is something created together.

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has trusted us with part of their grief journey, and especially grateful to David for helping shape this curriculum with such care and thoughtfulness.🧠💙 Want to sign up for the next offering? Register here: https://tinyurl.com/8hsea8ct 

       

Many people know me through Invictus by Genna: Grief & Loss Services , but I’m also deeply honored to serve as the New Mexico Community Liaison for HeartLight Center. 💙

This role allows me to support grief not only one person at a time, but at the community level — through peer support groups, workshops, remembrance events, outreach, partnerships, and programs designed to help people feel less alone in loss.

At HeartLight, I have the privilege of helping create spaces where grief can be spoken about openly, honestly, and compassionately. From facilitating groups like The Grieving Brain to building partnerships with hospices, funeral homes, and community organizations, this work is rooted in connection, education, and accessibility.

I’m grateful to be part of building stronger grief support networks here in New Mexico and beyond. 🕯️