Faces of CredibleMind: Jennifer Stern
CredibleMind Blog by Jennifer Stern, LISW | View Original Blog
Welcome back to our series, “Faces of CredibleMind.” Over the next few weeks, we are sharing interviews with our content contributors. You can learn about who they are, what inspires them, and their self-care practices. This includes actionable tips and practices you can do to positively affect your wellbeing.
Last time, we featured Ari Goldfield. This week, we are featuring Jennifer Stern, LISW, a cognitive behavioral therapist. She is a blog writer and Grief & Loss expert for CredibleMind. Learn more about Jennifer’s passions below.
1. Who’s inspired you in the field of mental health and spiritual growth?
Many people have inspired me in my personal and professional spiritual life. One of whom is my Grandmother’s best friend, Maggie. I can picture her wearing blue jeans, in her 80’s, sitting with her legs folded beneath her on the ground, talking endlessly about spirituality, and sharing her beliefs about death. She believed that when your spirit is ready to move beyond the physical it leaves the space suit that is your body and roams freely.
Brian L. Weiss expanded upon this belief, that life is energy and energy never dies in his book, Many Lives, Many Masters. Pema Chodron, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Deborah Morris Coryell, Dr. Maya Angelou, Brené Brown, Harold Ivan Smith, Hope Edelman, Kay and Herbert Kramer, and Elizabeth Lesser are some of the many authors that have touched my soul and inspired, comforted and taught me.
My father died one month before I was born. My Mom, who was my north star, died when I was in my early 20’s. Caring for her during her end of life was by far the most impactful experience on my spiritual growth. Her Hospice team modeled compassionate, respectful, end-of-life care. They did not treat her cancer, they cared for and comforted her soul.
Others who have inspired me include the many resilient people that I have had the privilege to work with professionally, who have taught me so much about grace, courage, resilience, and faith.
2. What do you do as a personal practice to enhance your wellbeing?
My work as a Bereavement Counselor is deeply meaningful, fulfilling and at times, depleting. I find respite in nature. My soul is restored walking, hiking, gardening, star gazing, and listening to the sounds of water, crickets, birds chirping and the stillness that can be found in the grass and among the clouds.
I practice daily mindfulness and find great relief in O breathing and gratitude mantras.
3. What resources in your field do you recommend? What resources are you using right now?
I have a few favorite books that I refer to often:
- Good Grief: Healing through the Shadow of Loss by Deborah Morris Coryell
- ABCs of Healthy Grieving: A Companion for Everyday Coping by Harold Ivan Smith
- Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron
- Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, M.D.
- The Presence of the Light by Annabel Chaplin
TED Talks:
- BJ Miller’s What Really Matters at the End of Life is deeply moving, inspiring, and life (and death) affirming.
- Norah McInerny’s We Don’t “Move On” From Grief, We Move Forward With It is insightful, as well as heartbreaking and funny.
- Brené Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability discusses the power of vulnerability, shame, and empathy. Her talk creates space for self-compassion.
4. Is there anything else you’d like our users to know about you?
Transformative Grief was born out of my desire to validate, encourage, and empower those living with grief. Transformative Grief strives to reach readers where they are in their grief experience and support them in their personal journey. As a therapist, I know all too well that grieving isn’t 9 to 5. I wanted to provide a place where people could find support and validation at 2am when sleep is likely to be evasive and grief consuming. Grief is personal, messy, lonely. There is no one way or right way. It is important to know that the heaviness of acute grief will not last forever and that in time, your time, you will begin to feel present in life once again.
5. How can people learn more about you?
People can learn more about me by visiting my website, Transformative Grief, reading my monthly column in The Beachwood Buzz, or Googling articles that I have written and interviews/talks that I have done on the topics of healing through grief and finding resilience.
Jennifer has written a number of blogs for CredibleMind as well as our topic center on Grief & Loss. For more of Jennifer’s work, check out her blogs below or visit her CredibleMind page.
