We are honored to companion you along your grief journey.

Bereavement services for adults, teens, children, and families.

Talk with someone who understands grief.

Call us

2243 Main Ave Suite 4F, Durango, CO 81301 (Main Office)

The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado is dedicated to meeting the needs of bereaved members of the community regardless of cultural and/or religious beliefs, manner of death, relationship to the deceased, and ability to pay.

Since grief is non-pathological, it does not fall under the reimbursable diagnostic criteria of insurance companies. Therefore, our services are self-pay. In order to meet our mission, we utilize a sliding scale based on ability to pay and number of family members accessing our services.
Spanish-speaking therapist available
Your forms will be sent to you via email before your first appointment.

Good Faith Estimate notice

How we help

Founded in 2009, The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado serves La Plata, San Juan, Montezuma Counties, Archuleta and Dolores counties by offering comprehensive grief support including:

A network of bereavement specialists in Southwest Colorado (Spanish-speaking therapist available)

About Us

Children and teens

Special programs for bereaved children and their families
Summer grief camps for children and adolescents
Family systems work with foster children and foster families
Parenting programs

Adults and families

Individual and group therapy for children, teens and adults experiencing a loss in their lives, including traumatic loss, using multi-modal interventions
Therapeutic support groups for bereaved individuals
Peer support groups for survivors of suicide and substance-related deaths
Pre- and neo-natal loss support
Anticipatory grief services
Grief due to death loss, incarceration, deportation, and life-altering diagnoses or accident included

Schools and organizations

School based grief counseling
On-call intervention response for schools and community organizations
Community resources and organizational workshops on grief, loss and trauma-informed care
Resource library with books, films, audio and written materials to share

Our work is based in honoring the lived experience of our clients, and incorporates the following philosophy:

Grief is

Natural: Loss is a normal, inevitable and universal human experience
Non-pathological and Complex: Grief is an adaptive, non-pathological response to loss
Contextual: Grief is not solely an individual experience; grief is interwoven in a sociocultural context, influenced by family, community and other social systems
Disruptive: Grief challenges our identity, relationships, beliefs and assumptions about the world and our role in it
Relational: Healthy adaptation to loss is fostered by supportive relationships
Dynamic: The dynamic nature of grief cannot be captured by stage, phase, or other prescriptive models. There are no universally acceptable or “correct” ways to grieve.
Nonfinite: Loss is interwoven into our identity; therefore, the act of grieving is not a finite experience. Grief is ongoing.

“Judy was a calm in a crazy storm.”
“They gladly accepted whatever we could pay.”

Barrett and Amy Potthoff

Read the Potthoff family’s full words

“When we started our grief journey 3 1/2 years ago we were lost and confused. We had just lost our son Austin in a tragic car accident. Judy was a calm in a crazy storm. Our daughters were 6 and 9 and grieved very differently from one another. Our youngest daughter became all but non-functional at school as she “carried” her grief there. Judy was her advocate and her confidant.

As our daughters’ grief has changed she has been there every step of the way, not only for them but for my husband and I as well. I’ve desperately reached out to her for guidance when I didn’t know how to help my hurting babies. I can’t imagine making it this far in our journey without her.

Because The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado is non-profit we have not had to worry when our funds were low. They gladly accepted whatever we could pay.

No one thinks about the loss of income when a loved passes away until it happens to your family. Whether it’s a spouse or a grieving parent who has to take a leave of absence, knowing your children can get the help they need is a huge relief.

Our family will always be eternally grateful for Judy and The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado.”

— Barrett and Amy Potthoff

A young girl holds up a crayon drawing of a man

Support The Grief Center

All donations received go to providing bereavement services to underserved clients who have lost a loved one.

We are seeking friends and supporters who share our vision of healing from grief and the long-term prevention that comes with it. Please consider a financial contribution to support this work. All tax-deductible donations will go directly to supporting bereaved members of our community.

Donate

All donations are tax-deductible. Grief Center Tax ID #: 81-0898389

More ways to give

Please consider designating The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado as a beneficiary of your City Market Community Rewards!

Get involved

Ironhorse Remembrance Ride

Grief is the hardest journey we may take. It can have steep challenges, unexpected storms and moments when strength is hard to find. The Ironhorse Remembrance Ride was created in 2018 for bereaved people to have a way to honor this journey, and to remember their loved one.

The ride is an invitation -- to reflect, share stories, grieve, and find inspiration in those we have lost.

About the ride Upcoming Events Hiring Information