ForEm Foundation
ForEm
Foundation
GRIEF & SUPPORT
Help Your People Heal
These support organizations are here to help you process everything cancer brings into the room.
Soaring Spirits International
Free, year-round peer support for widowed people worldwide — including the Newly Widowed Program, weekly support calls and mailed resources built specifically for the first year after loss.
Local Bereavement Support (Hospice)
Hospice teams provide bereavement care and counseling to surviving family and friends, not just the patient. Search by zip code, city, or state to find hospice and bereavement services near you.
Two Daughters Foundation
Peer grief support groups specifically for young adults (18–39) who have lost — or are losing — a parent. If your loss was a different relationship (a spouse, sibling, child, or friend), this isn't the right fit; see Soaring Spirits International or Cancer Support Community instead.
Cancer Support Community
Free, professionally-led support groups and counseling through a network of 42 licensed affiliates nationwide — in-person and online, including grief and bereavement programs.
CancerCare
Free grief support and counseling from oncology social workers, available to anyone touched by cancer across the U.S.
Professional Counseling & Insurance Options
Grief support doesn't have to mean a support group. Sometimes what helps most is one person, one hour, just for you.
Through Your Employer (EAP)
Most employers offer an Employee Assistance Program — a set of free, confidential counseling sessions (typically 3–8 per year) available through work, completely separate from your health insurance.
Check your employee handbook, HR portal, or the number on the back of your insurance card for "EAP." These sessions don't require a diagnosis or a reason beyond "I need someone to talk to."
Through Your Insurance
Under federal law (the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act), most health plans are required to cover mental health care the same way they cover physical health care — meaning your therapy copay should be similar to a regular doctor visit copay, not a separate, higher rate.
Call the number on your insurance card and ask specifically: "What are my mental health benefits, and can you send me a list of in-network therapists?"
Without Insurance
Think therapy is out of reach financially? Three ways in:
Open Path Collective — Licensed therapists, $30–$70/session. One-time $65 membership, no ongoing fees. For uninsured or income under $100K/year.
FindTreatment.gov — Free federal locator for low-cost and sliding-scale clinics near you, by zip code.
211 — Dial or search 211 to find free local counseling and grief support in your area.
Finding a Therapist You Trust
Feeling comfortable with your therapist is everything. Tools below help you find licensed therapists in your area, where you can search for the exact credential, you need to help you out of the storm and back into your life.
Psychology Today's Therapist Directory
The most widely used way to search by specialty (grief, cancer, caregiver support), insurance accepted, and location.
Prolonged Grief Therapy
If you've lost someone and the grief hasn't loosened its grip, you're not broken and you're not alone. Prolonged Grief Therapy (PGT, formerly called Complicated Grief Therapy) is the most evidence-backed treatment available for exactly this — developed at Columbia University by Dr. Katherine Shear and tested in multiple randomized controlled trials specifically for grief that doesn't resolve the way people expect it to. Not all therapists are trained in this specific approach, so this directory finds the ones who are.