FINDING MEANING AFTER LOSS
Carrying Love Forward, Finding Meaning Again
A 10-session grief support group for adults who have lost a spouse, partner, significant other, or parent, led by Jenn Whitley, BC-DMT, LCAT, CMA, at our Manhattan studio.
Finding Meaning After Loss is a Thursday evening grief support group that gently weaves together guided conversation and creative expression, including movement, poetry, writing, and art, to help you honor the person you lost and reconnect with what gives your life meaning.
Group Details
For: Adults grieving the death of a spouse, partner, significant other, or parent
Facilitator: Jenn Whitley, BC-DMT, LCAT, CMA
Dates: Thursdays, November 12, 2026 to March 11, 2027 (10 sessions; full schedule below)
Time: 6:00 to 7:30 PM
Session Length: 90 minutes
Location: Dancing Dialogue, 80 East 11th Street, Suite 307, New York, NY 10003
Fee: $900 per session
Intake: A brief intake screening is required for all participants before the group begins
Experience: No dance, art, or writing experience needed
2026 to 2027 Schedule
2026: November 12 | November 19 | December 3 | December 17
2027: January 7 | January 21 | February 4 | February 11 | February 25 | March 11
Grief is layered and complex. It can arrive in waves, settle quietly into the body, and reshape the way we move through each day. Finding a supportive space to openly explore your experience can be an essential part of healing.
Talking about the loss of someone you love is often difficult. Yet making room to reflect on how this loss has touched your life, and to reconnect with what gives your life meaning, can be deeply restorative. In this group, you do not have to carry it alone.
Led by Jenn Whitley, this group offers a compassionate, non-judgmental space where you can feel seen, heard, and understood alongside others who know the weight of a similar loss.
If individual support would also help along the way, anyone on our team, is here to walk with you.
At Dancing Dialogue, we believe grief lives not only in our thoughts, but in the body, and the body holds its own wisdom for healing.
This group meets each person exactly where they are, whether your loss is recent or you have been carrying it for years.
A Felt Experience of Grief and Meaning
Many grief groups focus on talking alone. We offer something more. Here, conversation is joined by gentle creative practices that let you explore what words cannot always reach. Dance therapy does not have to mean dancing. It can be as simple as noticing your breath, finding a gesture for a memory, or letting a feeling take shape on the page.
We hold a body-mind view of healing. The body often knows before the mind can name it, and listening to how the body speaks can open a path toward meaning, resilience, and peace.
Each session is thoughtfully paced so that you can participate in whatever way feels right that evening. Some nights you may want to share. Other nights you may simply want to listen, move quietly, or write. Every way of showing up is welcome.
This is not about performing or getting grief "right." It is about creating space to remember, to feel, and to rediscover the threads of meaning that remain.
A Typical 90-Minute Session
This group is grounded in Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy (MCGT), a structured approach that helps individuals re-establish a sense of meaning after loss. MCGT addresses key challenges in the grieving process and may offer support to those experiencing prolonged grief. Each session brings its ideas to life through guided discussion and creative exploration.
✔ Arriving and Grounding: A gentle opening to settle into the room, notice the breath, and arrive in the body after the day
✔ Guided Reflection: A focused conversation around that week's theme, from the story of your loss to the legacy of the person who died
✔ Creative Exploration: Movement, poetry, writing, or art that lets feelings and memories take shape beyond words
✔ Sharing and Witnessing: Time to share what emerged, or simply to listen, in a space where each person is seen and heard
✔ Closing Ritual: A quiet closing practice to gather what you discovered and carry a sense of steadiness into the evening
The Meaning-Centered Approach
Together, we will work toward:
Making sense of your loss
Discovering growth and unexpected gifts within your grief journey
Reconnecting with a sense of identity and purpose
Exploring four core sources of meaning in your life
Honoring the legacy and meaning in the life of the person who died
The four sources of meaning:
Historical: The story of your life, the legacy you have received, and the legacy you carry forward
Attitudinal: The stance you choose toward life's limits, even in the presence of pain
Experiential: Connecting with life through love, relationships, beauty, nature, and the moments that move you
Creative: What you create, contribute, and give to the world around you
By drawing on the wisdom of the body and the power of creative expression, the group aims to foster resilience and help each participant reconnect with a personal sense of meaning and hope.
You do not have to walk through grief alone.
How Movement, Poetry, and Art Support Healing After Loss
Grief often lives beyond words. When we bring the body and creative expression into the conversation, we can reach the memories, feelings, and longings that are hard to say out loud, and begin to hold them with more gentleness and strength.
✔ Space to Be Seen
Sharing in a small group with others who understand can ease the isolation that so often follows the loss of a partner or parent.
✔ Grief in Motion
Simple, gentle movement helps give shape to feelings that feel stuck or heavy, so they can be noticed, expressed, and slowly softened.
✔ Honoring a Legacy
Together, we explore the ways the life of the person who died continues to shape your own, and how you might carry their legacy forward.
✔ Words That Heal
Poetry and reflective writing offer a quiet place to speak to the person you lost, tell their story, and notice what you are learning along the way.
✔ Reconnecting with Purpose
Over ten sessions, participants begin to rediscover who they are now, what matters most, and where hope can grow again.
✔ Art as a Bridge
Images and color can hold what language cannot, creating a bridge between memory, feeling, and meaning.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Grief Support Group
-
This group is for adults who are grieving the death of a spouse, partner, significant other, or parent. Whether your loss is recent or you have been carrying it for some time, you are welcome to reach out and see if the group feels right for you.
-
Not at all. Every creative practice is offered as an invitation, never a performance. You can participate in whatever way feels comfortable, and simply being present is enough.
-
The intake screening is a brief, confidential conversation with Jenn before the group begins. It gives you a chance to ask questions and helps us make sure the group will be a supportive, safe space for you and for every participant.
-
Yes. Finding Meaning After Loss is a therapeutic support group led by Jenn Whitley, a board-certified dance/movement therapist and licensed creative arts therapist. It is grounded in Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy and enriched by dance/movement and creative arts therapy practices.
-
No. Some evenings you may want to talk, and other evenings you may prefer to listen, write, or move quietly. Each person's pace is respected.
-
This group is designed specifically for the loss of a spouse, partner, significant other, or parent. If you are grieving a different loss, we would be honored to support you through individual therapy or other offerings. Learn more about our approach to grief and loss.
-
The group meets in person at our Manhattan studio, 80 East 11th Street, Suite 307.
-
Dancing Dialogue is an out-of-network provider. Some insurance plans offer out-of-network reimbursement for group therapy. Visit our Fees and Insurance page or contact our office to learn more.
-
Grief can feel especially heavy at certain moments. Our team offers individual, couples, and family therapy, and we are happy to talk with you about additional support. Explore our group therapy services and other offerings, or reach out anytime.
Ready to Begin?
Grief is a reflection of love. We would be honored to walk alongside you as you find your way toward meaning, connection, and peace.