A Conversation with Grief Coach, Emma Payne

Emma Payne, who joins us from Vancouver, is the founder and CEO of Grief Coach, a text messaging service that delivers ongoing, expert grief support globally. Grief Coach, which was borne out of her personal loss, combines Emma's passion for mobile technology and engagement, with her deep commitment to providing affordable, accessible, and personal grief support. An MIT graduate and best-selling author who started building online communities before Netscape was born, Emma knows that, while grief is hard, it’s a little easier when we have people by our side. "Expert grief support for you.  Gentle coaching for friends & family who want to help but may not know how. All via text. For less than the price of an hour's therapy, we'll send you thoughtful, personalized tips and suggestions all year long. Texts are curated by experts and customized based on your loss. Because nobody should have to grieve alone."   (source: grief.coach)  Stark numbers exist regarding grieving.  The U.S. Census recently reported the biggest jump in mortality rates in 100 years.  Death spiked almost 19% in 2019-2020 (Covid, suicides and overdoses account for some of this).  So that feeling that we have that so many are grieving is not just a feeling.  It is real.  Before the pandemic, it was hard to find a grief counselor.  When we are grieving, there is vast data that indicates that we are at risk of negative health outcomes.  This is especially true of vulnerable communities.  But the health care system needs to acknowledge this, and has not.  Yet.  Grief Coach has filled a huge gap. One does not have to have a smart phone to access this service.  It is a one way service, in that clients receive customized support through Grief Coach via text.  Fourteen percent of Grief Coach's clients are seniors (read "not necessarily tech savvy").  Many of their clients come via hospices.  Clients can invite people to join their service who want to help but do not know how to help a grieving person.  Grief Coach's feedback is an almost constant stream of gratitude for their help.  "Thanks for telling me what to do," many support clients remark. "We take the beautiful knowledge that exists and make it accessible," Emma says.  Many of Grief Coach's experts worked in hospices or with patients with terminal illnesses for decades.  Grief Coach is developing additional resources for people with terminal illnesses and for health care workers who work in high trauma/high death roles. "No one teaches us how to grieve.  We are in a grief and death illiterate society.  It is scary to sit with someone in the depths of grief and depression. Grief must be relieved," Emma explains.  We are all fortunate that Grief Coach is helping us process and move through our grief. Learn more about Emma's work here: www.grief.coach Check out the Grief Coach blog for helpful tips:  https://grief.coach/blog/ https://www.instagram.com/grief.coach/ https://twitter.com/mygriefcoach https://www.facebook.com/mygriefcoach https://www.linkedin.com/company/griefcoach https://vimeo.com/griefcoach https://www.tiktok.com/@grief.coach https://www.pinterest.com/mygriefcoach