Someone you know is grieving right now. Maybe it’s a coworker who lost their parent last month. A neighbor whose spouse passed away. Your sister who miscarried. Grief is everywhere, yet we’re remarkably bad at knowing what to do with it.
That’s exactly why grief coaching has exploded onto the scene as the fastest-growing specialty in the life coaching industry. And honestly - it’s about time.
What Even Is Grief Coaching?
Let’s clear something up first - grief coaching isn’t therapy. It’s not counseling. And it’s definitely not someone patting you on the back saying “everything happens for a reason” (please, never say that to a grieving person).
Grief coaches work with clients to help them move forward after loss. Not “move on” - that phrase needs to retire. Forward - there’s a difference.
A grief coach might help you figure out how to handle your first holiday season without your mom. They could support you in rebuilding your identity after divorce. Some specialize in helping people process the loss of a career, a dream, or even who they thought they’d be by now.
The International Coaching Federation reported a 42% increase in grief coaching certifications between 2022 and 2024. Training programs that used to have 15 students per cohort now run waiting lists. Something shifted.
Why the Sudden Demand?
You probably already guessed part of it. The pandemic left millions dealing with loss - and not just death. People lost jobs they’d held for decades. Relationships crumbled under lockdown pressure. Some folks lost their entire sense of what life was supposed to look like.
But here’s what’s interesting: the demand didn’t spike in 2020 or 2021. It started climbing in late 2022 and hasn’t stopped. Turns out, collective trauma has a delayed reaction.
There’s another factor nobody talks about much. Traditional support systems have gaps. Therapy waitlists in major cities stretch four to six months. Employee assistance programs offer maybe five sessions. Religious communities help some people but feel alienating to others. Friends try their best but often don’t know what to say.
Grief coaches fill that space. They’re typically more accessible than therapists, more structured than support groups, and more equipped than well-meaning friends who accidentally say hurtful things.
What Makes Grief Different From Other Coaching Niches
Most life coaching focuses on achievement. Hit your goals - build better habits. Level up. There’s usually an energy of forward momentum, optimization, becoming your best self.
Grief coaching flips that script entirely.
The work isn’t about becoming better or achieving more. It’s about integrating loss into your life without letting it consume everything. Sometimes the “win” is getting through Tuesday. That’s it - just Tuesday.
This requires a completely different skillset from coaches. You can’t motivate someone out of grief. You can’t give them a five-step action plan to stop missing their daughter. The usual coaching toolkit - accountability, goal-setting, mindset reframes - can actually do harm if applied carelessly to someone who’s grieving.
Good grief coaches understand that grief isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a process to survive.
The Training Gap (And Why It Matters)
Here’s where things get complicated. The coaching industry has minimal regulation. Anyone can call themselves a grief coach tomorrow. Hang up a website, print some business cards, start taking clients.
That’s - concerning.
Working with grieving people requires understanding trauma responses, recognizing when someone needs clinical intervention instead of coaching, and knowing how to hold space without absorbing someone else’s pain. These aren’t skills you pick up from a weekend workshop.
Reputable certification programs take six months to a year. They require supervised practice hours. They teach coaches to recognize their own triggers and limitations. The American Institute of Health Care Professionals and several universities now offer accredited programs specifically for grief support.
If you’re considering hiring a grief coach, ask about their training. Ask how many hours of supervised practice they’ve completed. Ask what they do when a client’s needs exceed their scope. A good coach will have clear answers. A sketchy one will get defensive.
Who Actually Hires Grief Coaches?
The client base might surprise you. It’s not just people dealing with death, though that’s a significant portion.
Divorce recovery has become huge. Especially for people who were married 20+ years and suddenly have to figure out who they are as individuals again. There’s grief wrapped up in that, even when the divorce was wanted.
Parents of addicted adult children work with grief coaches to process the loss of their expectations and the ongoing pain of watching someone they love struggle. Empty nesters grapple with identity shifts. People facing terminal diagnoses seek support for anticipatory grief.
Corporations have started bringing in grief coaches too. Progressive companies recognize that employees dealing with loss need more than three bereavement days and a sympathy card. Some offer grief coaching as part of their benefits package.
The Money Side of Things
Let’s talk numbers because money matters and pretending it doesn’t is weird.
Grief coaches typically charge between $100 and $300 per session, depending on experience, location, and specialization. Some work with sliding scales. Others offer packages of sessions at reduced rates.
For coaches, this niche pays well relative to general life coaching. Clients tend to be highly committed - they’re showing up because they’re in real pain, not because they vaguely want to “improve their life. " Retention is strong. Referrals come organically because when someone helps you survive the worst period of your life, you tell people.
The startup costs for becoming a grief coach run between $3,000 and $10,000 for quality training, plus whatever you’d spend on any coaching business (website, liability insurance, marketing). Most coaches keep another job while building their practice, reaching full-time income within 18 months to two years.
What Good Grief Support Actually Looks Like
Maybe you’re not looking to become a grief coach. Maybe you’re reading this because you’re grieving, or someone you care about is.
Here’s what good support includes:
**Presence without pressure. ** A good grief coach won’t push you through stages or tell you when you should be “over it. " They’ll meet you where you are, even if where you are is a complete mess.
**Practical tools. ** Breathing techniques for panic moments. Scripts for responding to intrusive questions. Strategies for getting through triggering dates and events. Grief is more than emotional - it shows up in your body, your sleep, your concentration.
**Permission - ** To feel angry. To laugh at something even though your person just died. To not be okay. To take longer than everyone thinks you should. To still talk about your loss years later.
**Boundaries. ** A good coach knows when to refer out. If you’re showing signs of complicated grief or clinical depression, coaching alone isn’t enough. Responsible practitioners have networks of therapists and psychiatrists they work with.
The Criticism Worth Hearing
Not everyone thinks grief coaching is a good development. Some therapists worry about unqualified people wading into deep psychological territory. They’re not wrong to be concerned.
Others argue that grief shouldn’t be commercialized - that we’ve lost something important when processing death requires hiring a professional. There’s a point there too. Communities used to hold grief collectively. Now we outsource it.
And some folks in the coaching world itself criticize the rush into grief work. They see coaches with minimal training jumping into the niche because it’s hot, without fully grasping the weight of what they’re taking on.
These criticisms don’t mean grief coaching is bad. They mean it needs to be done carefully, with appropriate training, clear boundaries, and genuine respect for how profound loss actually is.
Where This Is All Heading
Grief coaching isn’t going away. If anything, demand will keep climbing. We’re an aging population - climate disasters are displacing communities. Economic instability creates ongoing losses. People need support, and the current systems can’t meet that need alone.
The coaches who’ll do well in this space are the ones who approach it with humility. Who get proper training and keep learning. Who recognize that sitting with someone in their darkest moments is a privilege, not just a business opportunity.
If you’re grieving and considering working with a coach, trust your instincts. The right person will make you feel seen without feeling fixed. They’ll help you carry what you’re carrying without pretending they can take it away.
And if you’re thinking about entering this field yourself - go slowly. Get trained well. Do your own grief work first. The people who come to you will be bringing their most tender, broken places. That’s not something to take lightly.
Grief changes us. The best grief support doesn’t try to change us back. It helps us figure out who we’re becoming now.