Restoring the Helpers: A Wellness Retreat for Funeral Directors

Showing Up with Purpose, Staying Invested with Heart

Saturday, January 31, 2025

Location: Minnesota Humanities Center

MFDA Members Only: $250

This retreat is designed for funeral directors who
have been licensed for at least one year. 

Who This Retreat is For

This retreat is designed for funeral directors who have been licensed for at least one year who:

• Recognize the impact of compassion fatigue and want practical solutions
• Want to stay present and engaged without burning out
• Need effective techniques for staying grounded during difficult services
• Are searching for sustainable ways to protect their wellbeing while continuing to care deeply
  

What to Expect

This day is built around rest, reflection, and practical tools. You'll learn practices to support your nervous system, acknowledge your emotional investment in this work, and develop strategies to show up more fully without self-erasure.

Morning: Grounding & Presence

Begin with breathwork and guided reflection on what it means to be fully present when serving grieving families. Participate in a movement and nervous-system reset session tailored for death care professionals—learning techniques to manage overstimulation and return to center before entering emotionally charged moments.

Midday: Staying Invested Without Burning Out

Explore the critical difference between emotional investment and emotional depletion through a practical, compassionate workshop. Understand why funeral directors often lose sight of their own needs in the urgency of others' and gain actionable micro-practices for staying grounded throughout your workday. Learn how to protect your capacity to care while remaining engaged in your calling.

Afternoon: Purpose & Peer Connection

Reflect on the families and stories that have shaped your work through structured writing and symbolic ritual. Engage in restoration activities—mandala art, vision boards, or journaling—to reconnect with what keeps you going. Join facilitated peer discussions where you can share openly with colleagues about the realities of this work, staying invested when you're tired, and finding meaning even in the hardest moments.

Closing: Integration & Next Steps

End the day with a nature-guided meditation, breathwork for integration, and a commitment plan for ongoing self-care.

Meet Your Speakers

Kelly Grosklags

Kelly Grosklags, LICSW, BCD, FAAGC, FT is a nationally recognized clinical psychotherapist specializing in oncology, palliative care, grief and hospice. With over 28 years of experience, she has devoted her career to walking alongside individuals and families facing serious illness, end of life care, grief, and loss, while also supporting the professionals who serve them. She is a dual Fellow, holding advanced fellowships in Thanatology and Grief Counseling.

Kelly provides consultation, education, and emotional support to healthcare professionals and funeral directors, helping them navigate the complexity and emotional weight of their work with clarity, compassion, and sustainability. Her guidance focuses on staying present, preventing burnout, and honoring the humanity of both the caregiver and the care receiver.

She is the founder of Conversations with Kelly, an online and live interactive speaking platform, and is an executive producer, author, and international speaker. Through her work, Kelly is known for her grounded, compassionate communication and her ability to create meaningful conversations that foster healing, resilience, and connection during life’s most vulnerable moments.

Bryan Piatt

Bryan Piatt is a mental health therapist at State of Mind Therapy, specializing in supporting people living with OCD and anxiety. He is a former news anchor and reporter at KARE 11, and the host of the “Take What Serves. Leave the Rest” podcast—which creates a safe space to talk about mental health. Bryan speaks publicly about his own journey with OCD. He is also a Breathwork facilitator, meditation guide, and yoga teacher. Woven throughout all of his work is the message that—no matter what you're experiencing—you aren’t alone.

What to wear? Is there food?

Dress comfortably! We want you to feel relaxed for the day.

A continental breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages will be served during the retreat.