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Susie Cushner

Grief Practitioner

Grief

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Life and death
Love and Loss
Human conditions
No one is exempt
I will meet you there.

portrait of Susie Cushner grief support counselor with long gray hair, wearing glasses and a yellow striped button-up shirt, smiling at the camera.

Without Human Connection There is no Grief

I have worked as an End of Life Doula and Grief Support Practitioner and Guide for 14 years. While living in New York City, a significant part of my experience and early training was as a Chaplain Intern on the Palliative Care Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital, where I had the privilege of accompanying individuals and their loved one through the dying process. Since relocating to Santa Cruz in 2017, it has been a joy to serve my community through Hospice of Santa Cruz County with 1:1 Grief Counseling and as a facilitator of numerous grief support groups.

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Sessions

Our 1:1 work together will be held in a nurturing space where everything is welcome and authentically felt, seen, and heard. I create the conditions for healing while encouraging presence in your grief process that is safe and life affirming.

The pain of the loss of a beloved is inexplicable, whether prolonged and anticipated or sudden, the loss is real and grief is experienced and expressed uniquely by every individual. The process of grieving is a significant transition and transformation from one way of being in the world to another. Having a layer of compassion and emotional support following a profound loss can be comforting and re grounding. Sessions can be held either in your home within Santa Cruz County or anywhere remotely via Zoom.

I am dedicated to ensuring grief support is accessible to all. One hour sessions are offered for $100/hr or at a reduced rate based on need.

CONTACT ME

  • “Susie receives you with gentle, loving presence and complete attention. Her open heart creates a space where you feel safe, comfortable, and truly heard–all parts of you are welcome. She is a gem of a human and a gift to the grief community.”
    —Rabbi Edie Meyerson

  • “Susie's warmth created an immediate sense of safety where I was able to openly explore the confusing, complex feelings of deep grief following my sisters unimaginable loss.”
    —CS, HSCC Volunteer Community Services

  • Susie ~ Gratitude for showing up for me week after week holding a space of safety and compassion. In my darkest grief for my beloved, you held a light.

    – KM Grief Support client ‍

A Deep Bow of Gratitude 
to my Beloved Teachers

Rabbi Edie Meyerson: Associate Professor and Director 
of Pastoral Counseling andBereavement Services, 
Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute

Roshi Joan Halifax: Founder and Abbot of Upaya Zen 
Center Santa Fe, New Mexico, Author: “Being with Dying” 
“Standing at the Edge”

Frank Osteseski: Buddhist Teacher, Co Founder: Zen Hospice Project, Founder: Metta Institute, Author: “The Five Invitations”

“Love and death are the great gifts that are given to us; mostly they’re passed on unopened.” –Rilke