Palette of Grief® – A Reflective Practice for Processing Grief

Understanding Your Palette of Grief®

Just as an artist’s palette holds and blends different colors, grief can involve many reactions that overlap, change, and become more or less prominent over time. Palette of Grief® uses words and color to create a visual representation of those reactions, helping you see your grief as a whole rather than focusing on any single response.

The reflective activity explores grief across five areas: emotional, cognitive, behavioral, physical, and religious or spiritual reactions. By choosing a different color for each area and identifying the reactions that apply to you, you create your own individual Palette of Grief®.

There is no single pattern that defines grief. Each palette reflects the individual experience of loss and can provide a starting point for reflection, conversation, and identifying coping strategies that may be helpful.

The Palette of Grief® recognizes that grief reactions are shaped by the circumstances of the loss, personal history, concurrent stressors, relationships, beliefs, and other factors unique to each individual.

For Individuals Experiencing Grief

Grief can affect how you feel, think, behave, and physically respond to the world around you. It can also influence your beliefs, sense of meaning, and spiritual life. Palette of Grief® gives you a structured way to notice these different reactions and see how they may be connected.

As you create your palette, the colors that stand out can help you recognize which aspects of grief are most prominent for you. You can then reflect on the reactions you feel comfortable exploring, consider what they mean to you, and identify coping strategies that may help you manage them.

Because grief is highly personal, there is no right or wrong Palette of Grief®. Your palette represents your experience of loss and can change over time as you continue to process and adapt to what has happened.

For Clinicians and Grief Professionals

What if you could quickly be aware of a client’s grief process without requiring them to verbalize the specifics of the loss narrative?

Supporting a grieving client can be challenging, particularly when grief and bereavement have not been a primary focus of your clinical training. Palette of Grief® provides a structured, visual way to gain a broader understanding of the reactions that are most prominent for your client and identify areas they may be ready to explore.

Rather than focusing solely on the circumstances of the loss, the activity can open conversations about how grief is affecting the client emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally, physically, and religiously or spiritually.

Palette of Grief® can be used during counseling, therapy, bereavement support, or group settings and can be adapted to the individual needs of the person you are supporting.

50 Ways to Cope With Colors of Loss

Recognizing your grief reactions is only part of the process. Palette of Grief® also includes 50 practical coping strategies designed to help you respond to the emotional, cognitive, behavioral, physical, and religious or spiritual reactions you identify.

After completing your palette, notice which colors and reactions stand out. You can then explore coping strategies related to those areas, choosing approaches that feel appropriate for you. Strategies range from writing, self-compassion, cognitive reframing, and accepting support to physical activity, relaxation, meaning-making, rituals, mindfulness, and maintaining connections with the person who died.

Not every strategy will be right for every person. The goal is to identify approaches that fit your experience, needs, and circumstances as you adapt to your loss.