Counseling and Bereavement Services
In your time of grief, counseling is important in helping you to come to terms with the passing of a loved one.
Grief Support Services You Can Count On
Grief is a normal response to any loss, affecting the grieving person physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
In your time of grief, counseling is important in helping you to come to terms with the passing of a loved one.
Well trained and compassionate, the counseling groups we work with are there in your time of need.
Greenwich Village Funeral Home can recommend and connect families with trusting and caring grief counseling services in our area.

You may have heard others say “just give it time and you will eventually feel better”. Time is necessary to the healing process, but it is only one aspect of effective grieving. In addition to taking time, grief requires intentional “work” by the bereaved in order to achieve a healthy outcome from the process. Similar to someone taking action to seek medical help to heal an injury, the bereaved must take action to move through grief.
Local Counseling Services
Greenwich Village Funeral Home staff can recommend and connect families with trusting and caring grief counseling services in our area and around the nation. Well trained and compassionate, the counseling groups we work with are there in your time of need.
Check A Therapist’s Credentials
Check the credentials of your mental health provider:
NYS Professions: Online Verifications
www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm
New York State Education Department
Office of the Professions
www.op.nysed.gov/
State Education Building, 2nd floor
89 Washington Ave. Albany, New York 12234
Call: (518) 474-3817
E-mail: op4info@mail.nvsed.gov
Cancer-Related Bereavement
Cancer Care
For family members who have cancer or whose loved one had cancer
275 Seventh Avenue, 22nd Floor, (between 26th and 27th Streets)
New York, NY 10036
Contact:Intake department or bereavement coordinator, Amanda Sutton, x6138 Leave message and they will call you back. 800- 813-HOPE
Cost: Call for info
Cancer Care offers groups to address the concerns of a variety of populations who are affected by any type of cancer, at any stage which includes:
- Bereavement Support for Partners and Relatives
- On-site groups, telephone support groups (800-813-Hope), and online support groups
- Cancer care offers more than 50 support groups each month, where people meet face-to-face, over the telephone, or online to discuss problems, gain support, and learn from other. Each of these groups is led by a professional oncology social worker from the staff of Cancer Care.
Calvary Hospital
1740 Eastchester Road Bronx, NY 10461
Contact: Dr. Sherry Shack, Director of Bereavement Services
(718) 518-2125
Cost: Free
Groups are open to the community and run by professional pastoral counselors.
Gilda’s Club NYC
195 West Houston St.
Contact: Anyone in the program department can be of assistance 212-647-9700
Cost: Free
Gilda’s Club New York City Mission: To support, educate and empower individuals impacted by cancer and their families. Their free comprehensive cancer program includes support groups, educational lectures and workshops for individuals living with a cancer diagnosis, caregivers, and anyone grieving the loss of a loved one to a cancer-related illness – men, women, teens, and children. For more information, please call and find out when the next orientation meeting for new members is being held.
Hospice Foundation Of America (HFA)
2001 S St. NW #300
Washington, D.C. 20009
Call: (800) 854-3402
Fax: (202) 638-5312
HFA is a nonprofit organization that promotes hospice care and works to educate professionals and the families they serve in issues relating to care giving, terminal illness, loss and bereavement.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
646-888-4889
Cost: None
Open to the community when the death is cancer- related. Groups run by a certified grief professional.
Types of Groups: loss of spouse, loss of an adult child, adult loss of a parent, adult loss of a sibling (or other important relationships). Ten weeks for one and a half hours each. These groups are held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and are closed. There are also drop-in general bereavement groups held during the day.
Hospice Based Bereavement Services
Cabrini Hospice
Contact: Bereavement Coordinator, Ronnye Halpern CSW
227 East 19th Street, between 2nd and 3rd, 16th floor
New York, NY
Cost: None
Monthly drop-in group, every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 6:00 – 7:30
Groups run by professionals Visiting Nurse Service of New York
1250 Broadway, 17th floor
Bereavement Coordinator: Vince Corso
For Manhattan: Janet King
For The Bronx: Esther Rosario
Large variety of population specific groups
Groups run by professionals
Cost: None
Jacob Perlow Hospice
First Avenue at 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
Contact: Bereavement Coordinator, Benyamin Cirlin, CSW
(212) 420-4153
Cost: None
Twice monthly drop-in group
Fierman Hall
317 East 17th Street., 6th floor
Week closed group. Grief Reconciliation Seminar
Registration required. Available to members of the community in addition to family of hospice patients
Metropolitan Hospice and Jewish Hospice of Greater New York
6323 7th Ave Brooklyn, NY, 11220-4711
Contact Bereavement Coordinator: Frank Attanasia
Chaplain: Rabbi Charles Rudansky
(718)921-7900
Cost: None
Bereavement And Loss Center Of New York
168 West 86th St., Suite 1D New York, NY 10024
Call: (212) 874-4711
Call: (212) 799-9180
Fax: (212) 749-2481
E-mail: benmir@lossandrenewal.com
Hospice Services Outside of New York City
AARP Grief and Loss Programs
VNS Hospice of Suffolk
505 Main Street Northport, NY 11768
Contact: Andrea Fierro, RN, Bereavement Coordinator
(631) 261-7200 x316
Groups are held Friday afternoons, 4:00-5:00
Cost: None
The Compassionate Friends
The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.
Marble Collegiate Church
3 West 29th Street (Near 5th Ave.)
New York, NY 10001
Be sure to contact the chapter through their web site, or contact the national office, to confirm the meeting time, day, and location.
Hospice Care Network- Bereavement Centers
Large selection of population specific groups
Queens: (718) 939-2273
Nassau: (516) 832-7100
900 Merchants Concourse
Westbury, NY 11590
Suffolk: 631-666-6863
14 Shore Lane
Bay Shore, NY 11706
Hudson Hospice, Inc
93 Clark St., Jersey City, NY 07305
201.433.6225
General bereavement groups
Cost: Free
General and Population-Specific Bereavement Groups
New York City Self-Help Center
(212) 582-9100
Clearinghouse for all kinds of support groups
Telephone counselors are available Mon – Friday, 11:00-2:00 to match people with the most appropriate group. Self help bereavement groups for all situations are available in all boros. General Bereavement Group
Family Life and Respect Life Office
Pastoral Bereavement Program
(212) 371-1000, x3187
In every boro and most counties, non-denominational
Cost: None
Groups run by trained volunteers
National Council of Jewish Women
820 Second Avenue, 2nd floor (between 43rd and 44th streets)
New York, NY 10017-4504
tel: (212) 687-5030 ext. 10
website: www.ncjwny.org
Cost: none
general bereavement group for adult men and women group is generally held in the afternoons, 8 consecutive 90 minute sessions
Friends in Deed
594 Broadway, suite 706
tel: (212) 925-2009
Cost: none (donations accepted)
Eric Schneider is a Pastoral psychotherapist who specializes in brief, short term therapy and has a special interest in group work.
Center for Loss and Renewal
Contact: Benyamin Cirlin, CSW
(212) 874-4711
168 W 86th St., #1D, NY
Individual and group counseling available
Cost: Call for info
The 92nd Street YMCA
1350 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10128
Groups for Widows/Widowers and for loss of parent
Cost: $100.00 for six sessions
The Bereavement Center of Tuckahoe
Contact: Mindy Farkas
(914) 961-2818 x365
Cost: call for info
See Calvary Hospital
Bereavement Services for Older People
(New York Service Program for Older People) Widowed Person’s Service day and evening groups led by trained widowed persons
Contact: Barbara Danish, 787.7120
302 W 91st New York, NY
Cost: None
Next step groups are for those who have been widowed more than one year. Bereavement support group for adults who have lost a partner or spouse. There are day and evening groups available. All groups are 8-10 sessions. Under the direction of a qualified coordinator, trained volunteers, who are widowed, provide comfort, support, and understanding. They offer support groups and personal one-to-one support services.
Caring Community
20 Washington Sq. North New York, NY 100 11
(212) 260-6626
Fax: (212) 254-9636
E-mail: paul4357@aol.com
The agency provides a wide variety of social services to the elderly.
Parents and Siblings who have suffered the death of a child
For bereaved parents and their siblings
Groups are organized and run by parent survivors
Local Office – (212) 439-8111
Second Tuesday and 4th Tuesday at 7:00
Marble Collegiate Church
1 West 29th
Cost: None
Jewish-Identified
Jewish Board of Family Services (JBFCS)
212/795-9888 x143 for intake – Marilyn Comacho or Sheila Ramich at 632.4692
Groups for children who have lost a parent or significant other beginning at age 5-teens
Groups begin in the spring and the fall and are 12 weeks in duration
They are held from 4:15 -5:30 and there is a simultaneous educational group for parents
549 West 180th St., New York 10033
Cost: call for info
New York Jewish Healing Center
A Jewish Connections Program of JBFCS
850 Seventh Ave., Suite 1201
Contact: Myra Shendell, CSW
Cost: call for info.
850 Seventh Ave., Suite 1201, NY, 10019
Groups facilitated by a rabbi and a social worker
Groups are available for spouses, adult children, siblings, and parents who have lost an adult child.
A group is also available for Jewish Survivors of a Close One’s Suicide
Contact: Rabbi Simkha Weintraub, CSW
212.399.2320 ext.215
Cost: None
Jacob Perlow Hospice
First Avenue at 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
Contact: Bereavement Coordinator, Benyamin Cirlin, CSW
(212) 420-4153
Cost: None
Twice monthly drop-in group
Fierman Hall
317 East 17th Street., 6th floor
Week closed group. Grief Reconciliation Seminar
Registration required. Available to members of the community in addition to family of hospice patients
Metropolitan Hospice and Jewish Hospice of Greater New York
6323 7th Ave Brooklyn, NY, 11220-4711
Contact Bereavement Coordinator: Frank Attanasia
Chaplain: Charles Rudinsky
(718) 921-7900
Cost: None
Chai Lifeline
Telephone conference groups led by a social worker
also bereavement retreats
Contact: Rabbi Moshe E. Bomzer
(212) 699-6646
Cost: None
151 West 30th St. New York, NY 10001
The Jewish Center for Spiritual Care of the New York Board of Rabbis
Spiritual Care Hotline and Pastoral Visiting Program
136 E 39th St
Contact: Rabbi Debrah Cohen or Rabbi Joshua Zlochower
983.3521
Hotline: 889.5550
For residents of the East Side of Manhattan and Queens who are homebound and alone. The rabbis will make home visits to offer spiritual support and make referrals to other services
Cost: none
Children
Jewish Board of Family Services (JBFCS)
(212) 795-9888 x143 for intake – Marilyn Comacho or Sheila Ramich at 632.4692
Groups for children who have lost a parent or significant other beginning at age 5-teens
Groups begin in the spring and the fall and are 12 weeks in duration
They are held from 4:15 -5:30 and there is a simultaneous educational group for parents
549 West 180th St., New York 10033
Cost: call for info
Graham-Windham Manhattan Mental Health Center
274 West 145th St., 2nd Fl.
New York, NY 10039
Contact: Kate Sherman, CSW
(212) 368-4100 x22
Groups held Thursdays 4:00 – 5:00
For girls and boys ages 10 – 13
Uses psychodrama, and action methods to facilitate the grief process
Cost: call for info
See Chai Lifeline
See Visting Nurse Service of New York – groups for children
The Sanctuary
2 Washington Square
Lobby Suite South
Larchmont, NY 10538-1448
contact: Amy Liebman-Rapp
tel: (914) 834-4906
website: www.thesanctuaryforgrief.org
seminars on loss and grief for children and teens bereavement groups for students individual grief counseling for children and adults resource material
Payne Whitney Clinic
528 East 68th Street
New York, NY 10021
888-NYH-5700
Weill Cornell Westchester
21 Bloomingdale Road
White Plains, NY 10605
888-NYH-5700
Lesbians and Gay Men
208 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011
Contact Doneley Meris for an intake assessment,
(212) 620-7310 ext.277
Cost: free
Women’s Grief Support group, Thursdays, 6:00-7:30
Men’s Grief Support group, Wednesdays, 6:00-7:30
Gay Men’s Health Crisis
119 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
Mental Health Services, (212) 367-1165
Living after loss group, 10 week group
See Visiting Nurse Service: Gay and Lesbian Bereavement Group
Contact: Donna Danrille
(212) 290-3923
SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment)
contact: Allan: (212) 741-2247 ext. 229
208 West 13th St.
New York, NY 10011
Provides mutual support to older gay men and lesbians who have lost their life’s partner or who are caring for their partner who is gravely ill. Screening before attending first meeting.
Survivors of Suicide
120 Wall Street, 29th Floor
New York, NY 10005
1-888-333-2377
Survivors of Homicide
(513) 721-5683
Spanish Language
See Calvary Hospital
General Bereavement group for Spanish-speakers meets the third Thursday of the month.
Hospital
(212) 305-4562
Contact: Lucy Wicks
Cost: Sliding scale/Medicaid/Insurance
710 W. 168th St., 6th Floor
New York, NY 10032
For adolescents:
(212) 305-7257
Contact: Sheila Ryan
Cost: call for info
622 W. 168th St. Room 619N
New York, NY 10032
Gay Men’s Health Crisis
119 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
Mental Health Services, (212) 367-1144
Contact: Anya Seltenheim, (212) 367-1141
Living after loss group, 10 week group
Individual Bereavement Counseling (Medicaid/Medicare)
Union Settlement Corporation
Johnson’s Counseling Center
2089 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10029
(212) 828-6144
The Postgraduate Center
138 East 26th Street, 4th Floor (between Lexington and Third Avenue) New York, NY 10010
(212)576-4190
See also Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services Individual grief counseling is available.
Medicare/Medicaid accepted
See Cancer Care. Deceased or bereaved must have had cancer. Assessment will determine plan of care
Greenwich Village Funeral Home is a Member of






