AI IN GRIEF SUPPORT
REVOLUTIONIZING HEALING BEYOND THE FUNERAL
By Patricia Klimek and Adam Fischer, The Willow Team, Austria
o explore the current state of grief
support, this article emphasizes
the importance of memories and the
need for funeral homes to expand their
offerings beyond organizational tasks.
By incorporating insights from funeral
homes and psychologists, it highlights
innovative ways to support grieving
families emotionally and underscores
the
significant
role
of
preserving
memories in the recovery process.
The Struggle with Grief
When a loved one passes away, families often
face overwhelming administrative tasks. “We try
to relieve the bereaved of as many burdensome
organizational tasks as possible. However,
especially once the funeral service is planned
and organized, the loss often becomes very
apparent to the bereaved.” describes Sonja
Dietl from Bestattung Wien. While traditional
services end with the funeral, many funeral
homes like Bestattung Wien and Himmelblau
cooperate
with
support
associations
and
psychologists to help families to navigate their
grief. “It is important to provide the appropriate
and suitable framework for families – grief has
many faces.” Mrs. Dietl adds.
Funeral home staff see the significant impact
on clients' mental state and must adapt to
these challenges. David Wagner, head of sales
at Bestattung Himmelblau, shares, “Organizing
a funeral has sensitive emotional components
impacting both families and staff. For our staff,
we offer targeted training and anonymized
psychological support. However, for the families,
our services currently focus only on operational
support.”
“Once the ceremony is over, families feel
lost and lack guidance. Funeral services lack
solutions to provide long-term support,” adds
Philippe Lemonaca (VP European Federation
of Living with Grief ). Funeral homes largely
lack tools for ongoing support, focusing mainly
on logistical rather than emotional assistance.
To this Mr. Wagner noted, "Until the funeral,
customers are in grief but function due to many
tasks they have to perform. The more intense
part of the grieving process only starts after the
funeral, when we no longer have touchpoints
with clients."
16
No. 107 – AUTUMN 2024 | THANOS MAGAZINE
MAIN TOPIC