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Aimee Joy Taylor – Collective Grief

In this episode, Gael sits down with licensed massage therapist, educator, grief counselor, and creator of Grief Massage, Aimee Joy Taylor, to explore an often unspoken but deeply felt experience: collective grief. From global crises to tragedies that ripple far beyond their epicenters, Aimee explains how these events affect our bodies, our sense of safety, and our work as massage therapists. This conversation opens the door to understanding grief on a collective level and provides gentle, grounded ways to support both ourselves and our clients.

Whether you’re actively working with grieving clients or simply want to be more aware of how collective stress shows up in the treatment room, this episode offers compassionate insight and practical steps for becoming more grief-informed. You’ll walk away with language, tools, and perspectives that help you create safer, more supportive spaces for everyone you serve.

Aimee Joy Taylor is a massage therapist and grief counselor with a master’s degree in counseling who has dedicated her career to supporting those navigating loss. Her development of Grief Massage introduced a new modality to the profession, earning her recognition, publication in Massage & Bodywork magazine, and research grants from the Massage Therapy Foundation. Today she teaches massage therapists how to support grieving clients with skill and emotional literacy.

Key Topics Covered

  1. Understanding Collective Grief and Why It Matters Today

  2. The Impact of Global Events on Our Bodies and Sense of Safety

  3. How Massage Therapists’ Sensitivity Shapes Their Experience of Grief

  4. Recognizing Stress Responses and Shutdown Patterns

  5. Supporting Clients Through Presence Instead of Fixing

  6. Building Grief Literacy into Intake, Space Design, and Practice Materials

  7. Community Care: Death Cafés, Climate Cafés, and Group Processing

  8. Navigating Grief as Practitioners and Staying Within Scope

  9. Personal Practices for Regulating, Processing, and Staying Grounded

  10. Building a Local Grief-Aware Referral Network

  11. Recommended Books, Resources, and Grief-Informed Education

Use Aimee’s Gentle Grief-Support Framework

• Awareness of how grief shows up in the body
• Nervous-system attunement and presence
• Community support and collaboration
• Grief-sensitive intake questions and subtle client signals

Memorable Insights

• Collective grief often goes unnamed but still deeply affects the body
• Scrolling creates pseudo-connection but rarely helps us process emotions
• Therapists with tender or “broken-open” hearts often feel collective grief more intensely
• Nervous system responses to distant tragedies can mirror responses to personal loss
• Clients may carry grief you know nothing about; safety is created through presence
• Practitioners must tend to their own grief to avoid over-identification or going outside scope
• Community circles and group processing offer powerful regulation and healing

Resources Mentioned

🌐 Aimee Joy Taylor’s website and classes 👉 https://griefmassage.com
📚 Books recommended by Aimee:

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