Grief in Relief: Therapeutic Processing and Artmaking Circle

Grief in Relief is an eight-session, in-person program that invites a small circle of participants into a series of embodied conversations and creative practices to explore and move grief intuitively so we can grow our capacity and confidence to well-tend experiences of loss with ourselves and with others. Each session includes facilitated discussion and guided artmaking.

Grief and loss taking infinite forms, and all are welcome in this circle.

Over eight in-person sessions we will:

learn and unlearn about the nature of grief and loss - drawing upon creativity, intuition, and nature for inspiration
explore the ways we carry grief in our bodies – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually;
intuitively move grief like a river using expressive arts - creative writing, journaling, music, visual artmaking and more; and
practice truth-telling and deep listening

Upon completing this course, you will be able to say with increased confidence:

My relationships with grief and loss are expansive and deep.
I acknowledge, honor, and move grief creatively and with ease.
I trust in my ability to meet others in their grief and loss experiences in ways that are mutually supportive.
I have capacity for joy, vulnerability, connection, and resilience.

If you are ripe for this kind of transformative work for yourself and your community, I do hope you’ll consider stepping in with us.

This group is facilitated by therapist, Caroline Fraase, and artist and healer, Lisa Cheney-Philp.

Please note: All of the experiential activities offered in this program will be guided. No prior experience is necessary and participation is always a choice, not a requirement.

2025 Program Details

dates are February 27, March 6, 27, April 3, 10, 17, and May 1, 8
limited to eight participants
meets weekly on Thursday mornings in northwest Fort Collins
10am-11:30am
investment is $370, all materials included
registration is closed

Ripple Effects

Alissa Lundy, age 36, Windsor, CO

Raquel Neto, age 39, Fort Collins, CO

Alissa Lundy, age 36, Windsor, CO

"With Caroline and Lisa’s support, I am less afraid of the darkness that is grief. I find I am less anxious about 'visiting' my sister and the death experience. I am more willing to discuss her with my family.

I am so grateful to have tried journaling and varying art projects. It created an opportunity for discussion with my family and prompted me to think more about the grief as ever flowing, and not this dark stagnant time. What was so sad and heavy feels lighter and less tight."

Jill Munson, Fort Collins, CO

Raquel Neto, age 39, Fort Collins, CO

Alissa Lundy, age 36, Windsor, CO

"Grief in Relief is an intimate, supportive space where you are invited to explore your grief in all its forms. Here, you’ll learn to trust your intuition and honor your own emotional journey. At the heart of this experience is deep listening—because true healing begins with being heard.

Facilitated by two women with years of experience working with grief, this space is designed to empower and heal through storytelling, shared reflection, and creative expression. Whether through conversation or art, Grief in Relief offers a compassionate environment where living with grief becomes a path to connection and resilience. "

Raquel Neto, age 39, Fort Collins, CO

"Before Grief in Relief, I was basically terrified of speaking in a group and the idea of making art in front of others was almost worse. The gentle and accepting foundation set by Lisa and Caroline instantly eased my fears.

Before [this] group, I have to admit I had a hard time trusting women. Now I am secretly hoping I can stay friends with all of these women in any capacity. It’s the group none of us wanted to be in, but I am so grateful that we all found. "

Tara Saldivar, age 35

Lori, age 64, Loveland, CO

Raquel Neto, age 39, Fort Collins, CO

"Before Grief in Relief I felt like my outlook on death was one sided and dark. With the help of Lisa and Caroline I have been able to find my footing and face death in a different direction. I am so grateful for this experience of working with art and emotions."

Lori, age 64, Loveland, CO

"What I liked best about Grief in Relief was having time to share and listen to other's shares, and art projects, especially those focused on intuition. I also appreciated the invitation or permission that there are all types of grief that we could address or feel free to bring up, including the emphasis on secondary losses and ripple effects."

Small Group Programs

Weave in Ends Coaching Circle for Well-tended Endings

Are you ready to resolve unfinished business and release the limiting belief that there will always be more time? Are you ready to say Yes! to what matters most and reclaim your capacity for present-centered living?

Weave in Ends Coaching Circle for Well-tended Endings is a seven-session, virtual program that invites adults of all ages and in all stages of living and dying, into deep conversation and practice with death and endings so we can grow our capacity and resources to move through all parts of lifecycles, especially endings, honorably – with intention and integrity.

Deep consideration and awareness of death and endings open us up to a sort of magic, capable of stripping away all that is distracting, peripheral, and beyond our control while bringing to the center of consciousness all that remains raw, incomplete or out of alignment with our core values named and unnamed.

Over seven virtual sessions we will:

enter brave space together and engage with patterns of overwhelm, inaction, and avoidance around the topics of death and endings
turn towards death and endings with curiosity, deep listening and willingness to respond,
choose an ending we'd like to explore (i.e. end of life, end of a relationship, end of a job) in the next three months
create a holistic restorative action plan that specifies how we will move to and through that ending with intention and alignment with our values,
practice taking our next right steps in community, celebrating our efforts, and responding as our plans unfold in real time, and
encourage each other toward relief and restoration along the way.

This group is facilitated by artist and healer, Lisa Cheney-Philp.

2025 Program Details

dates are April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and May 6, 13
limited to six participants
meets weekly on Tuesday afternoons over Zoom
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm (MST)
cost is $220
registration is required at Lisa@womenofthewater.com

Ripple Effects

April, age 32, Boulder, CO

"Working with Lisa has initiated huge changes in my days, because creating a death plan actually felt like committing to a more sincere, wholistic, purposeful path toward life. She helped me become clear on what is important for the time I have left in this world and since none of us ever know how long that will be, I realized that there was so much I had been waiting to do for some unforeseeable time in the future. Our sessions helped me to understand how much I had been holding back due to fear, insecurities and/or the assumption that there would always be more time. But the idea of "more time" quickly became an illusion during our work together, and the reality of life's preciousness stood in its place instead. Lisa is an extremely patient, compassionate and wise woman, whom I felt entirely comfortable opening up to and being guided by. I'm so grateful she is offering this deeply necessary, rich service to the world, and recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone longing to live a more full and fulfilling life."