THE GRIEF RECOVERY INSTITUTE® - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive Director Australia
- Executive Director Australia - the Grief Recovery Method
Amanda has been providing counseling, education, and training services in Australia since 2002. Originally from Canada, she moved to Australia to pursue her studies and fell in love with the country and her future husband, with whom she has two boys. Amanda has worked extensively with schools in Western Australia developing counseling workshops for teachers, school staff, students, and parents. She has also been actively involved with several professional organizations, lectures at the School of Social Work and Occupational Therapy at Curtin University, and has her own private practice.
Following the death of her brother, Amanda began her pursuit to become a Grief Recovery Method Certified Facilitator, training intensively with John James and Russell Friedman. She has been the Executive Director of The Grief Recovery Method Australia and New Zealand since 2012.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director Scandinavia
- Executive Director Scandinavia - the Grief Recovery Method
Anders, who is based in Sweden, first came in contact with Grief Recovery shortly after his mother died from lung cancer. The amazing power of The Grief Recovery Method not only had an impact on his emotional life but resulted in a career shift. With an exam from the prestigious Stockholm School of Economics, a clear career within the business field laid ahead for Anders. Instead he chose to train at the Grief Recovery Institute and became a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist® in 2002.
Anders has since then translated the Grief Recovery Handbook into Swedish, Finnish, Danish, and German. He founded the Swedish Institute for Grief Recovery, which has helped and educated thousands of people in Sweden. In 2005 Anders became a trainer of the trainers, which led to a real expansion of the number of Certified Grief Recovery Specialists in Scandinavia. Anders is a frequently booked lecturer, has appeared on Swedish television, and has been interviewed for numerous magazines and newspapers.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director Mexico
Arturo became involved with grief work when he volunteered at his parish to become part of their bereavement team. It was very rewarding, but he was not satisfied.
Job Titles:
- Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Director of Specialist Relations and Events
Catherine Best is an Advanced GRMS and GRI Trainer based in the UK has 30+ years of experience in Early Years, Primary and University level education as a teacher and university lecturer, with Masters in Autism and Ne
Job Titles:
- President
- President, the Grief Recovery Institute - the Grief Recovery Method
Cole W. James is the President of the Grief Recovery Institute. He grew up in Southern California and, as the son of the founder John James, was encouraged to be "a heart with ears" from a very early age on. After high school, Cole attended Baylor University where he played baseball. Upon returning to Los Angeles, he chose to explore a career in the entertainment industry, working for Fox Movie Channel and FX Network for six years. At this point in time and after much consideration, Cole made the decision to disengage from the corporate world and join his father in building a future that focused on "meeting the emotional needs of others". The following years of mentorship and collaborative work both with his father and Russell Friedman, John's partner, fully prepared Cole to assume the leadership position of the Institute upon John's retirement in 2017.
Cole travels nationally and internationally, speaking at conferences and facilitating trainings that certify individuals to become Grief Recovery Method Specialists. He co-authored the Grief Recovery Handbook for Pet Loss, a comprehensive publication that addresses recovery from a type of loss that has been historically ignored. Cole's background in communications has allowed him to reorganize the Institute in a manner that now meets the needs of the 21 st Century. The Institute's website is continually evolving to support its Specialists in the best way possible, as well offering many support options for grievers that reach out to it for help. Specialists now have the capability to facilitate this work online as a result of Cole's development of online formats and delivery training. To date, his restructuring of the Institute's business model has enabled the Institute and its community of Specialists to reach more people globally than ever before.
Cole lives in Idaho with his wife, Ashley, and their four children. He enjoys dirt biking, hiking, camping, snow boarding, and boating with his family when he is not busy helping to improve the lives of others.
Ed's journey to the Grief Recovery Institute ® began after the devastating loss of his 3 year old son, Eddie Ryan, in 2010.
Job Titles:
- Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer / Upon Completion of Her Grief Recovery Certification Training in 2010
"When you die, what matters most is your relationship with your family and that you were a person of your word." -John W. James
John W. James founded the Grief Recovery Institute over 40 years ago. He was born in Illinois and had a life filled with both joy and sadness, similar to most of our journeys. However, it was the death of his infant son in 1977 that propelled him to redefine his lifelong purpose. John was overwhelmed with grief and unable to resource any type of support to assist him in dealing with the wide range of intense emotions he was experiencing as a result of the loss of his child. Fortunately, he was able to create his own successful process for completing his grief and, as a result, the Grief Recovery Method was born.
To this day, the Institute's mission is to deliver grief recovery assistance to the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. John continues to be internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities on grief and grief recovery. During his life, he co-authored multiple benchmark publications on the topic of recovery from loss: The Grief Recovery Handbook; When Children Grieve; Moving On; Moving Beyond Loss; and The Grief Recovery Handbook for Pet Loss. The Institute is currently associated with Affiliates in Mexico, Sweden, Australia, Hungary, and Africa.
John W. James spent his entire life helping others, most notably his family. In the end, his greatest gift to his loved ones and to others worldwide is the Grief Recovery Method.
My name is Mike Wadel and I have been a Grief Recovery Method Specialist since 2004. I was trained and mentored by former National and International Grief Recovery Method Trainer, the late Dr. Nancy Martin. Read more Mike Strick Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist®- Enrollment and Outreach Coordinator Mike comes to The Grief Recovery Institute having witnessed exceptional outcomes for 15 years leading The Grief Recovery Method® as a Bereavement Coordinator at a hospice from 2007 - 2021. Read more
On November 26, 2016, Russell passed away surrounded by his family. Russell will be greatly missed and his legacy will continue on in the work of all the people's lives he touched.
Job Titles:
- Life & Professional Development Coach
Sandi personally experienced the GRM in 2006 after ending a three and a half year meth addiction. Her most devastating loss experiences happened during her young life. Read more Susan Dindinger Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer - Specialist Support Team Susan's deep desire to help people led her to study Psychology at UCLA, where she graduated summa cum laude. However, after the devastating loss of her only sister, Susan discovered the Grief Recovery Method in 2002. Read more Gwen Russo Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer Gwen's introduction to GRM began back in 2017. Read more
My name is Tammy Fleming. My career for thirty years was in Christian ministry, serving mostly as a missionary in Northern and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and the UK.