Grief is cultural. So is occupational grief. When we talk about multiculturalism in counselor education, we often think about race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and geographic community. We should. But our understanding of culture cannot stop there. Military members and first responders belong to distinct occupational cultures, and within those cultures are subcultures shaped by branch, department, region, role, and generations of tradition. They have their own language.

Grief is cultural. So is occupational grief. When we talk about multiculturalism in counselor education, we often think about race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and geographic community. We should. But our understanding of culture cannot stop there. Military members and first responders belong to distinct occupational cultures, and within those cultures are subcultures shaped by branch, department, region, role, and generations of tradition. They have their own language.

Trauma is not measured by the event alone. It is measured by the nervous system’s response to the event. One of the most important things we can understand about psychological trauma is that two people can experience the exact same event and leave with very different outcomes. Why? Because every nervous system is unique. Our genetics, childhood experiences, attachment relationships, previous exposures to adversity, available social support, resilience, and countless other fac