Children Teach Us About Grief and Loss with Nina Gorbach, LMFT

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Gorbach has been, for years, listening to stories of grieving children. These stories reveal the surprising resilience, compassion, and wisdom that children carry through loss, offering invaluable insights and guidance for anyone seeking to understand their own grief history. Throughout, she distinguishes between grief as a solitary inner experience and mourning as its shared, social expression, showing how community, ritual, and creative expression let children reclaim their sense of worth, connection, and hope after devastating loss. With courage, these young people unlock the timeless truths that bind us all in our healing journey. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

Bio

Nina S. Gorbach is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, artist, and bereavement specialist who has spent more than three decades working with grieving children and families. In 2000, she founded the WillMar Center for Bereaved Children, a nonprofit organization created to support young people coping with the death of a loved one. Gorbach brings a multicultural, multigenerational lens to her work in hospices, schools, and private practice. She facilitates in-services for schools and youth organizations on Children and the Creative Process, Healthy Living, Self-Care, Educational and Counseling Support for teachers, counselors and staff addressing multiple children and teen issues.

Nina Gorbach is the author of:

• Finding the Gold in Grief: What Children Teach Us About Loss and Love M ((Morgan Dale Pess 2026)

To learn more about the work of Nina Gorbach go to www.ninagorbach.com

Topics explored in this dialogue include:

• The importance of helping children face death and loss openly
• Some cultural differences in grieving practices
• How using art, music, and storytelling in bereavement work supports children in the grieving process
• How sand tray play can be used as a healing tool
• Why sibling loss must be acknowledged so as to not disenfranchise grief
• The difference between grief and mourning
• Some rituals of worth: such as tiaras and crowns that support the reclaiming self
• How children's imagination and their sense of the departed can come as guardians

Host: Justine Willis Toms    Interview Date: 8/21/2026   Program Number: 3870

Music Playlist

Album: Bring the Flavors
Artist: Jack Gates
Track 04 Waterfalls