Duke Personal Assistance Service has launched four new virtual support groups to help university faculty and staff process the grief of losing a loved one and provide them with an opportunity to “process uncomfortable emotions and discuss coping strategies.”

The newly offered support sessions – modeled after a support group at Duke Raleigh Hospital – are aimed at a broader community of university and Duke Health System staff and faculty. The groups will meet weekly from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. beginning Wednesday through October 2.

“(We) realized that a lot of people at Duke Raleigh happened to be experiencing grief at the same time,” said Caryn Christiano, senior EAP counselor for personal assistance services, of the decision to create the original program. “Because we’re at a point now where we can do more … that’s why (the expansion) was put in place then.”

PAS originally planned to offer a virtual support group, but an unexpected surge in interest led to the creation of three additional groups. There are currently 26 people on the waiting list to join a support group, but everyone can still contact PAS individually for immediate support.

Duke Raleigh’s original offer was only possible because it had enough staff and a consultant available to lead the sessions. For similar reasons, Christiano believes now is the perfect time to launch the new virtual sessions, pointing to three of her colleagues who have offered to lead the additional three groups.

Christiano added that she believes the ability for people to participate virtually was a key factor in the unexpected demand.

“I think that in their grief, people appreciate a certain anonymity (virtual) compared to being together in person,” she said.

Looking to the future, Christiano noted that she is not sure if the virtual grief sessions will be an ongoing offering or a one-time program, but emphasized, “Each of us is thinking about how we can offer more and reach more people in other ways.”