Description

Although there are numerous resources related to grief, few are written by mental health professionals who have experienced intense grief like Dr. Cristi Bundukamara, Ed.D., PMHNP (Dr. B) has. Losing three children over the course of seventeen years while caring for her terminally impaired husband, Dr. B has become more than familiar with pain. Her experience is often compared to the biblical story of Job, yet she still finds ways to use her professional knowledge and personal experience to turn her pain into purpose.

Dr. B’s relationship with grief first began when she lost Johnny, her adopted son, in a drowning accident in 2005. After the death of a second son, Reggie, in 2016, Dr. B developed the Mentally STRONG Method and began sharing her experiences and grief-related knowledge publicly. When she lost a third child, her daughter Miah, in 2021, Dr. B was inspired to create this framework for controlled grief so that she could process her losses, embark on her own grief-specific journey, and help others.

This workbook was written with those goals in mind. Whether you’ve lost a child or children (like Dr. B), a spouse, a friend, or someone who was important to you, you’ll find this book useful in terms of working through your pain and finding a path forward. Based on cognitive behavioral therapy and the Mentally STRONG Method, this workbook includes 45 journal prompts and customized worksheets (called Choice Opportunities) to help you (the reader) process your grief in a controlled way, organize your thoughts, and work through your emotions.
Although what you’ve been through is not okay, you can be okay!