What has this actually been like for you?
A lot of your attention may be going toward appointments, changes, decisions, family conversations, what the person you love needs, and what needs to happen next.
But there is also your experience of living through all of this.
Grieving the Diagnosis gives your experience a place in the story too.
A 14-week guided program with live support each week.
Each week focuses on one part of what you are living through and gives you a few ways to work with it.
Each week has a clear focus.
You’ll have a lesson, a Focus for the week, reflection prompts, an optional deeper activity, and tools you can use when they are helpful.
We talk about what comes up as you go.
The live groups give us time to talk about the week’s topic, what you are noticing, and what is actually happening for you.
You do not need to do everything. The material is there to help you understand your experience, not give you another list to keep up with.
Two different spaces for support.
One is the guided group for your 14-week program. The other is a more open place to bring what is happening that week.
Weekly Guided Group
90 minutes each week
This is your 90-minute guided group. We use the week’s module as a starting point and make room for reflection, conversation, questions, and what the topic is bringing up for you.
You do not need to arrive with something prepared. You can talk, reflect, ask a question, or simply listen.
Open Support & Integration
Thursday at 11:00 AM ET
This is a more open 60-minute support space. You can bring something that happened that week, a difficult interaction, a decision you are sitting with, something that changed, or something you want space to talk about.
And if you do not have something you want to talk about, you are welcome to come and listen.
Each week gives you a few ways to work with what we’re talking about.
You do not need to use all of them. The structure stays the same each week so you know what is there and can choose what is useful.
Lesson + This Week’s Focus
Start with the lesson. Then use the week’s Focus as one simple way to notice what stands out or how the topic may be showing up in your own life.
Take 10 Minutes to Reflect + If You Feel Up To It
Take 10 minutes with the reflection prompts if they help. If you want to go further, there may be an optional activity or tool to try.
Some weeks you may spend more time with the material. Other weeks you may listen to the lesson and come to group. You are not expected to do everything.
We start with your experience and build from there.
The work builds gradually. We begin with what this has actually been like for you, then look more closely at the reality you are dealing with and how you want to respond as things keep changing.
Understand your experience
Look at what changed, what this has actually been like for you, what you are feeling, what you actually have capacity for, what you need, and the strengths you are already using.
Understand what is changing
Understand more about dementia-related changes in communication, behavior, roles, decisions, and the relationship itself — along with uncertainty, ambiguity, and the losses you may already be experiencing.
Notice what happens in you when things get hard
Begin noticing your reactions without immediately judging yourself. Pay attention to what affects you, what happens afterward, and what actually matters to you now.
Make choices that fit
Bring together what matters, what you want, what you need, what is true, your limits, and what you realistically have capacity for. Begin making choices you can understand and stand behind, noticing what pulls you away from what you know, and looking again when something changes.
You understand yourself better.
You have more words for what you are experiencing. You know more about what affects you, what matters to you, what you can carry, where your limits are, and what helps you make decisions.
You have more words for what you are experiencing.
Your emotions and reactions begin to make more sense in the context of what you have been living through.
You know more about your capacity, needs, limits, and strengths.
You become clearer about what you actually have available, what takes more out of you, what you may need, and what you already have to draw on.
You have a way to think through difficult choices.
You can look at more than guilt, pressure, fear, or habit and bring the whole picture into the decision.
You begin trusting yourself more.
Not because you always know what to do or never second-guess yourself, but because you know you can pay attention to what is happening, make the best choice you can with what you know, and look again when something changes.
As things keep changing, you have a clearer place to begin:
What is happening? What is true right now? What matters to me? What do I need? What do I actually have capacity for? And what is the most honest choice I can make from here?
The support continues for two more months.
The 14-week program ends, but the dementia journey does not.
Things may change again. A decision that feels settled today may need to be looked at again. Your capacity may change. Something that works now may stop working.
During those two months, you can stay connected to support, return to the tools when they are useful, and keep working with what you learned as things continue to change.
Those two additional months are included at no additional cost.
The materials are there to help you work with what we are talking about each week.
14 weekly lessons
Each week focuses on one part of what you are living through and builds on what came before it.
This Week’s Focus
One simple place to begin working with the week’s topic in your own life.
Take 10 Minutes to Reflect
A few questions to help you notice what stands out. You choose the questions that feel most connected to you.
If You Feel Up To It
Optional deeper activities for the weeks when you want to spend more time with something.
Tools & Templates
Resources you can use during the program and return to later when they fit what you are dealing with.
Private community
A place to stay connected between live groups and be around other people who are living through their own version of this too.
I created Grieving the Diagnosis because the person with dementia is not the only person whose life changes.
I’m Liz Brown, a social worker with more than 20 years of experience supporting individuals and families through grief, loss, and major life transitions.
This work is personal too. When Alzheimer’s entered my husband’s family, I saw how much the diagnosis changed the people around it — the roles, the responsibilities, the decisions, the worry, the family dynamics, and what everyone thought the future might look like.
I also saw how easy it was for most of the attention to stay focused on the person with dementia while the people who loved them were trying to adjust to everything changing around them.
That is why I created Grieving the Diagnosis.
I wanted there to be a place where your experience matters too.
“I am so thankful that I came across this program and took a chance on it. It has been so valuable giving me information as well as tools to help deal with this devastating disease. One of the most incredible parts is the community that I have come to know and cherish, including Liz and the others in the online group. Being able to share with others who are in a similar situation has been beyond priceless.”
Is Grieving the Diagnosis a fit for what you need?
This may be a good fit if...
- You are an adult child or partner of someone living with dementia
- You want space to understand what this experience has actually been like for you
- You are trying to make sense of grief, guilt, anger, fear, loneliness, resentment, relief, exhaustion, or other complicated feelings
- Your role, responsibilities, relationship, or plans have changed and you are still adjusting to what that means for you
- You are making decisions without the same collaboration, certainty, or reassurance you may have had before
- You want to understand your capacity, needs, limits, strengths, and what matters to you now
- You want a structured program with live support while you work through these things
This may not be the right fit if...
- You are looking primarily for medical advice, caregiving logistics, placement guidance, or crisis care
- You are looking for individual psychotherapy
- You want a program that will tell you exactly what decisions to make
- You want a purely self-paced course without live group support
- You need immediate mental health or emergency support
What people have said about the experience
“I no longer feel so alone. I enjoyed getting to know Liz and the others on a personal level. I also enjoyed playing back our meetings because I was always able to grab something that helped me think in a different way.”
“My motivation for seeking out Grieving the Diagnosis is simple. I was in a bad place and didn’t know where to turn.”
“I learned I have to give myself grace and think before I speak, and I learned to take a step back and breathe. I will not always have the answers, but no one does as we navigate through this life.”
“I am more calm, less anxious. It’s not because I am used to Alzheimer’s. It’s because thanks to Liz Brown, I am learning to use the tools to cope with changes as they are presented.”
Start with a conversation.
The Exploration Call gives us a chance to talk about what has been happening, what you are looking for support with, and whether Grieving the Diagnosis feels like the right fit for you.
Common questions
Is this therapy?
No. Grieving the Diagnosis is a guided emotional support and educational experience. It is not psychotherapy, diagnosis, medical treatment, or crisis care.
When does the next group begin?
The next 14-week group begins in October 2026.
When are the live sessions?
Open Support & Integration is every Thursday at 11:00 AM ET. The day and time for the October guided group will be announced soon.
What if I do not want to share in the group?
You do not have to share. You can talk, reflect, ask a question, or simply listen. There is no expectation that you have something prepared to talk about each week.
Do I have to complete every reflection, activity, and tool?
No. You do not need to do everything. Each week gives you a few ways to work with the topic. Use what is helpful and leave what is not. Some weeks you may spend more time with the material. Other weeks you may listen to the lesson and come to group.
What happens after the 14 weeks?
The support continues for two additional months at no additional cost. You can stay connected to support, return to the tools when they are useful, and keep working with what you learned as things continue to change.
What if my loved one is in the early, middle, or later part of dementia?
Grieving the Diagnosis is not organized around stages of dementia. The program focuses on your experience of the changes, emotions, uncertainty, losses, decisions, and relationship changes that can happen along the way. The Exploration Call gives us a chance to talk about what is happening now and whether the group is a good fit.
What makes this different from a general dementia support group?
Grieving the Diagnosis combines a 14-week structured program with live support each week. We are not only talking about what is happening with the person who has dementia. We are paying attention to what this experience has been like for you — what has changed, what you are feeling, what you need, what you have capacity for, what matters to you, and how you are making difficult choices.
How do I join?
Start with an Exploration Call. We will talk about what has been happening, what support you are looking for, and whether Grieving the Diagnosis is a good fit.
You do not have to know exactly what comes next.
You can begin with what is true now — what has changed, what you are feeling, what matters to you, what you need, and what you actually have capacity for.
Grieving the Diagnosis provides emotional support and education. It is not therapy, medical advice, diagnosis, or crisis care.
