Barbara Rubel, BS, MA, BCETS, DAAETS, is the founder of Griefwork Center, Inc. and a leading authority and award-winning author on managing secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and vicarious trauma. As a nationally recognized keynote speaker and thanatologist, Barbara motivates audiences to build career resilience through the lens of vicarious trauma-informed care. Her programs help professionals manage workplace chronic stressors. Barbara has presented to over 1,000 organizations since 1991. As a Board-Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress and Diplomate with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, she gives audiences practical wellness strategies. Barbara received a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a Master of Arts degree in community health, with a concentration in thanatology, both from Brooklyn College.
Barbara is the author of But I Didn’t Say Goodbye: Helping Families After a Suicide (3ed). (2020), the 30-hour CE course for Nurses, Loss, Grief, and Bereavement: Helping Individuals Cope (1ed. – 4ed.) and CE course, COVID-19 Loss, Grief, and Bereavement (2020). Barbara co-authored Living Blue: Helping law enforcement officers and their families survive and thrive from recruitment to retirement (2024). She co-authored the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime Training Curriculum, Compassion Fatigue. She is a contributing writer to Thin Threads: Grief and Renewal; Fresh Grief; Coaching for Results; and Keys to a Good Life. You have seen her work in Good Housekeeping, Newsweek, Family Circle, Health, Shape, FOX Business, Woman’s World, TODAY, and others. Her programs and trainings focus on Palette of Grief® to manage traumatic loss and FABULOUS Transformation® to manage vicarious trauma.
Three weeks before giving birth to triplets, her father, a retired NYC police officer, died by suicide. Her story was featured in the Emmy Award-winning documentary, Fatal Mistakes: Families Shattered by Suicide. Barbara’s keynotes and virtual training on building resilience and self-care are a perfect blend of humor and evidence-based practices.
