Rachel Saffer (she/her/hers) earned her Masters of Social Work from Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Starting as an office volunteer at Austin Grief, Rachel quickly grew to be an integral part of our team.
Rachel has experience in providing counseling to adults, teenagers and children who have experienced significant trauma in both group and individual settings. Rachel utilizes various interventions in her practice including therapeutic yoga, EMDR, and traditional play therapy. She believes in providing every client with a welcoming and safe environment so that they can work towards healing on their own terms.
SUPPORT GROUP FACILITATOR TRAINING
The Austin Center for Grief & Loss has been proudly serving the Austin Community since 2007. Our extensive volunteer training prepares our support group facilitators to support and accompany children and adults who are experiencing grief and loss on their journey to hope, healing and transformation.
The clinician-led Volunteer Facilitator training consists of 5 virtual sessions, 2-hours each, and 3 group observations. We ask that prospective volunteer facilitators attend all training dates. There is a $25 fee to cover administrative costs. If you are interested in serving as a Volunteer Facilitator, please complete our Volunteer Application.
Upon completion of training, volunteers can facilitate all grief and loss support groups offered by Austin Grief. Support groups meet twice per month. Volunteers arrive at 6:30 pm for the pre-group meeting and stay until approximately 8:30 pm to debrief. We also offer daytime support groups. Support groups run for 75 minutes. There are also additional opportunities to join a group as a substitute when a designated co-facilitator is unable to attend.
We ask that volunteers commit to a minimum of 1 year of service volunteering with consistency of attendance for the benefit of group members. This may include any of our other volunteer opportunities or actively substituting for other facilitators. We also offer continuing education sessions to support the work and growth of our volunteer facilitators.
Thank you for your interest in sharing in the hope, healing and transformation with The Austin Center for Grief & Loss.
Please email questions to Nanci Boice at nboice@austingrief.org.