The loss of a child is horrible, and according to experts, it is common for dads to postpone their grieving in an effort to protect loved ones, says Irina Mariano-Brown, the social worker at Saint Peter’s University Hospital who facilitates the new Perinatal Bereavement Support Group for Fathers. Men are not given an outlet for expressing their own vulnerability and processing their wide range of emotions, she adds.  
 
Bereaved fathers can benefit greatly from the therapuetic experience a men’s support group provides. Fathers can enter a safe haven in which they can speak openly about their loss, as well as their everyday lives, while building friendships.
 
The group that meets at Saint Peter’s is the result of a partnership between the Hudson Shea Foundation and Saint Peter’s. The group meets from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of every month.
 
Adam Yoskowitz and fellow bereaved father Canaan Himmelbaum who established the original group which meets at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, felt the need to focus on an underrepresented population experiencing loss: fathers. They felt that fathers had often been overlooked in the aftermath of such a great loss and that dads were not being given the appropriate support they needed as they struggled to make sense of their position as both caretaker and grieving father.
 
For more information and to register to attend the men’s support group, please contact social worker Irina Mariano-Brown, MSW, LCSW, at imariano@saintpetersuh.com or call 732.745.8522