Havurah will be offering a bereavement support group this fall and winter so Havurahniks can come together to support each other with one another's grief. There was thoughtful consideration given to how this group should be run by the Pastoral Care and Ma'avar committees. It was decided that this would best be run by an outside mental health provider. The committees have asked Dr. Louise Marasco to facilitate this group.

Dr. Marasco’s areas of specialties include work with adults and older adults who are seriously medically ill, who are dying, and who are bereaved. Her career in palliative care, end-of-life care and bereavement initially grew out of interest in cultural and religious differences in customs and beliefs around death and dying. While she studied Buddhism for several years, she simultaneously worked as a home hospice volunteer. This work led her to commit to formal doctoral training in clinical psychology with an emphasis on death, dying, grief, loss, and bereavement. She completed internship training in geropsychology at the Miami VA and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Palo Alto VA in palliative care.

Dr. Marasco currently is the director of Transitions Professional Center, a psychology center she opened seven years ago, offering psychotherapy, neuropsychological assessment, consultation, and training. She facilitated a bereavement support group for several years and continues to see patients in her private practice. Recently, she joined OHSU half-time and sees patients who would benefit from her areas of expertise in internal medicine and neurology in the Parkinson’s Center and Movement Disorders Program.

The group will be limited to 15 people. It will be a closed group, meaning that after the group is underway, new group members won't be added, so people can create a sense of community and comfort with this process.