Testimonials For Karen Kagawa, BA-Psych, Medical Diploma-Community Rehab/Disability
Karen did an excellent job facilitating the program. She was clear with the instructions, empathetic and vulnerable. It was good to have a facilitator to keep me accountable to do the homework. I don’t think I could have finished the program without someone to keep me accountable. The facilitator shared her losses first and that helped me to gain courage to deal with my grief.
Support Groups10/04/2023Participant in Daegu, Daegu
Karen is an outstanding facilitator who has a strong grasp of the material, has clearly done her own recovery work around several losses, and is a compassionate and warm guide in the grief recovery process.
One-on-One Online Support08/15/2023Participant in Lorton, VA
It gave me closure, also showed me how to assist my daughter with her feelings as well and confidence/ strength to move on with my life.
Support Groups12/15/2022Participant in Spotsylvania, Va.
I've learned more constructive techniques to better "think" about my losses.
One-on-One Support12/15/2022Participant in Stafford, VA
The program opened my eyes to things I never would have attributed to grief. The book was incredibly well written, and I felt like the authors were really speaking to me personally. The facilitator was fantastic, she did an amazing job helping me to work through the homework and through my grief.
One-on-One Online Support12/15/2022Participant in Woodbridge, VA
Enabled me to identify areas of incompleteness and undelivered communication. Given me tools to apply to future situations and relationships.
One-on-One Online Support12/12/2022Participant in South Windsor, CT
The program offered me a chance to realize the depth of my grief and how to move forward with life.
Support Groups12/07/2022Participant in Fayetteville, NC
This program helped me to identify and address the issues and blockers with grief over a recent loss. I had started another program that provided useful general information, but didn't address my situation and my background, and so wasn't as effective.
One-on-One Online Support07/27/2022
It helped me to become more self aware; learning the things I run to and believe about grief opened my eyes in ways I hadn’t seen before and helped me. Charting out my loss history assisted me in realizing that there were losses from my childhood that I still carried. And having someone who was with me every step of the way, cheering me on helped me to have the courage to dig deeper.
One-on-One Online Support07/26/2022
Helped me with my lingering emotional pains dealing in changes of family dynamics and alterations of family expectations/dreams due to a close family member having mental illness.
Support Groups06/06/2022
I wrote in the previous section about Karen Kagawa’s wonderful approach and communication. It might sound simplistic but I hadn’t realized how little I talked OUT LOUD about the relationship I was completing. I thought about it a lot, but rarely spoke to others, usually because it makes people uncomfortable. I loved the structure. I also was impressed by Karen’s accessibility when I had questions in between sessions. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I feel hopeful for the first time in a long time. And I feel proud of myself too.
Support Groups06/06/2022
I felt like I was able to process everything to completion and to have a peace about the death of my mom that I didn't have before. That was so helpful!
Support Groups06/06/2022
I appreciated how the program helped me look at both the positive and negative of my relationship to my parent. My relationship with my mom had a lot of negative at the end due to declining health, but this program helped me remember the positive that occurred over many years. This program also helped me recognize that all of my close relationships are positive and negative - no one is perfect and for me to extend grace to myself and others.
Support Groups06/06/2022
The program helped me face several losses in my life including the most recent and impactful one... my father. I learned to face that it is ok to be selfish that he is not here which is something that i have not done.
One-on-One Support05/03/2022
This program was perfect to helping me process and complete my grief. I now have the tools to help me with future loss.
One-on-One Support12/20/2021
The program has helped to lift “the cloud of grief” that has hindered me since my mother passed. I feel like I am waking up! Very pleased with this program!!!
One-on-One Support12/07/2021
One-on-One Online Support05/20/2021
Educational about the myths of grief which helped my thinking about how to process it and work through it. The exercises were challenging but helped me to go deep and acknowledge emotions that were buried. The facilitator was extremely helpful in guiding through the exercises. Her experience and professionalism was obvious as she remained poised and showed empathy and compassion at the same time.
One-on-One Support04/22/2021
I have a better relationship with my mother now because when I am with her, I can focus on the present instead of being tortured by my past. She is a difficult person to deal with in general, but I can cope better now because I no longer focus on the painful losses I experienced as a child and young adult. Now I can see her as an elderly family member who needs my help in the present instead of my unloving mother who abused and abandoned me and my sisters in the past.
One-on-One Online Support03/09/2021
I came to GRM in hopes of uncovering insecurities from an active and lifelong relationship from my childhood. I had no idea how much my current view of this relationship was clouded by years of grief. GRM helped me identify and complete so many aspects of the relationship, both highs and lows, that I now am free to view and function in the relationship more accurately and with a freedom and security I never imagined. I'm very grateful for tool of The Grief Recovery Method, and for Karen who lovingly walked beside me through the process.
One-on-One Support10/23/2020Participant in Online, Zoom
I really found it extremely helpful.
One-on-One Support10/03/2020Participant in Fayetteville, NC
One-on-One Support09/24/2020Participant in Honolulu , HI
One-on-One Support09/08/2020Participant in Honolulu, HI
I have learned how to move on from unmet hopes, dreams and expectations in my relationship My father. Not only that, I have learned to forgive him in areas I didn't realize I needed to. This has lifted the burden of unresolved grief that I held for many years. I am very thankful for grief recovery.
One-on-One Support09/03/2020Participant in Honolulu, Hawaii