Grief, Trauma, and Healing: Highlight of BPNN Partner Centro Sanar

Elena**, a middle-aged Mexican female, initiated mental health services through BPNN partner Centro Sanar following the death of her husband. Elena and her daughters were coping with their grief in different ways and sought support with the process of addressing their grief as a family. One of Elena’s daughters is currently living in Mexico, and both Elena and her family therapist identified that including her in therapeutic sessions would be helpful to their family’s healing process. The family therapist therefore used Zoom to facilitate a therapeutic session that included family members in both Chicago and Mexico. Despite the physical distance, the Zoom session offered an opportunity for Elena and her daughters to acknowledge their differences in emotional expression and collectively process their feelings of grief in a safe and supportive space. Elena and her daughters stated that this Zoom session had offered an outlet for communication that opened new possibilities for their familial relationships. The story of Elena and her family demonstrates the power of “therapy without borders” and highlights how the innovative use of technology in the therapeutic space can promote emotional healing.

** Names have been changed for privacy.

For more information on Centro Sanar at Port Ministries, please visit https://www.theportministries.org/programs-services/."