Mary Jean Gandolfo
Ed.D, LSW,GC-C
Hello, I'm Mary Jean!
I believe in the transformative power of grief. With a lifetime dedicated to pastoral ministry and over two decades in religious and educational study, my journey has led me to a profound understanding of loss and its inevitable place in our lives. My commitment is to guide you beyond the surface of grief, to a place where healing fosters strength and self-discovery.
My Story
From the time my youngest child started kindergarten, the Fall of 1991 until the Winter of 2020, I was blessed to work in different areas of parish ministry. In 2001, I completed my Master of Art degree in Religious Studies with an emphasis in Pastoral Counseling, followed by earning my Doctorate in Education in 2018.
In 2019, on my 65th birthday, a dear friend’s daughter, Heather, lost her battle with cancer. Heather’s death inspired me to retire from Parish ministry and fulfill my desire to be a certified grief counselor. I received my grief counseling certification in 2020. Today I work as a grief counselor at Camberwell Grief Sanctuary in Bedford, Kentucky. Also, I recently authored a paperback resource on grief, titled Beyond Grief:101 Questions to Discover the Good Created by Your Loss, available on Amazon.
As you will discover through reading Beyond Grief, loss is an inevitable part of life and grief is a natural part of the healing process. To find purpose in your pain, you must go inward. Listen to what God is saying to you in your pain. Ask yourself how sharing your story can be a resource of hope for others.
As a certified grief counselor for Camberwell Grief Sanctuary, I utilize my combined learnings and experience as I work with people who are grieving following the loss of a loved one and/or grieving ambiguous loss,
My experience of ambiguous loss centers on the breakup of family relationships following my father’s death. Facing this loss led me to find the courage to begin to live a life being true to myself instead of living a life defined by the expectations of others. Through counseling I discovered that to get through my ambiguous loss, I needed to find my true self.
Beyond Grief gives you a collection of thoughts to encourage you to understand your inner child, as well as who you are today. Beyond Grief provides you a space to journal your thoughts and feelings, as you continue your grief journey. As you navigate through your loss, you will learn how to heal your codependency patterns, identify and work through your triggers, and develop boundaries as a component of self-care.
Do not let your pain define you. You will never get over your loss. Instead, you will grow through it. Learn to love yourself through your grief. Experiencing self-love through grief takes courage, vulnerability, and practice. Do the work! You are worthy of finding inner peace after loss.
With love,
Mary Jean
Mary Jean Gandolfo, Ed.D, GC-C