About The Program

Adventures Through Grief utilizes a therapeutic method originally developed by Game to Grow, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the use of table-top games for therapeutic, educational, and community growth. The method was modified by Blue Ridge Hospice to specifically address grief. 

Blue Ridge Hospice offers biweekly groups for teens (ages 13-17) and young adults (18-26). Groups run for 10 weeks, and consist of 4-8 participants each. Throughout the program, participants will tackle imaginary dangerous obstacles and tasks with guidance and support from trained and certified grief counselors. 

Blue Ridge Hospice’s facilitators have found the program to be highly effective as a grief counseling method, particularly for socially isolated teens and young adults hesitant to engage in traditional counseling. Adventures Through Grief achieves high retention rates and results in positive outcomes for participants, including a decrease in self-reported social isolation. 

Bringing ‘Adventures Through Grief’ to Your Organization

Blue Ridge Hospice received a $340,000 research grant from The New York Life Foundation through their ‘Grief Reach’ Grant Program to measure the program’s efficacy in a broader population and larger sample. Blue Ridge Hospice is currently accepting applications for up to seven partner organizations based in the United States who provide grief support services to teens and young adults, to receive training and provide their own Adventures Through Grief Programs.

Partner sites will receive:

  • $15,000 to support staffing, supplies, food and drinks, and marketing efforts for their ‘Adventures Through Grief’ groups. Funds will be disbursed across two payments — one in fall 2024, and one in fall 2025.
  • A copy of the book Therapeutically Applied Role-Playing Games, by Elizabeth D. Kilmer, PhD, Adam D. Davis, MAEd, Jared N. Kilmer, PhD, and Adam R. Johns, MA, LMFT
  • The ‘Adventures Through Grief” therapeutically-applied role-playing game (TA-RPG) Facilitation Guide
  • The ‘Adventures Through Grief” grief-specific TA-RPG module
  • A toolkit of marketing materials to promote their ‘Adventures Through Grief” group

Partner Site Requirements:

  • Must be a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code
  • Must already be offering grief-specific programs and groups for teens and/or young adults
  • Must have at least one and up to four grief professionals who:
    • can commit to 10-week virtual training taking place on Thursdays from 2:00 to 4:00 PM ET, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM PT, on the following dates:
      • September 12th, 19th, and 26th
      • October 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st
      • November 7th, 14th, and 21st
    • have capacity to offer at least one 10-week ‘Adventures Through Grief’ group in early 2025
  • Must be committed to recruiting a minimum of four teens or young adults as participants
  • Must be able to reliably conduct self-report surveys and provide Blue Ridge Hospice with the data required as part of participation in this program
  • Must agree to continue offering this group in some capacity after the funding is complete

Interested in Applying?

Join our Q&A session on July 29 at 3 p.m. EST, or contact Tina Thomas, LCSW, MS, at cthomas@blueridgehospice.org.

Partner Site Applications

Now open!

Submit your application to be selected as a partner site by 12:00 AM ET July 31, 2024.