The Tasks of Mourning Worksheet (Free PDF Download)

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This grief worksheet provides tools to empower your clients to understand the tasks of mourning, develop coping strategies, and find support on their healing journey.

What is The Tasks of Mourning worksheet?

The tasks of mourning worksheet is built on Worden’s four tasks, one to a section. They run from Accepting the Reality of the Loss and Process the Pain of Grief to Adjust to a World without the Person. Each task states a Goal, two Tips, and questions the client answers in writing.

How to use The Tasks of Mourning worksheet

Use it both in session and as homework, and say plainly that these are not steps in order. The sheet states they overlap and get revisited, which matters for a client who believes they have failed at grieving. Take one task per session, starting where the client already is rather than at Accepting the Reality of the Loss. Your clients can answer the written questions at home and bring back what they wrote.

The Tasks of Mourning Worksheet Download – What’s Included

Three printable pages. A short What is Mourning? panel opens, then each task gets a Goal, two Tips and two written questions. Accepting the Reality of the Loss asks whether the task is done and what helped. Adjust to a World without the Person asks about new roles and responsibilities. The last task asks how the client wants to honor the person.

Based on J. William Worden’s tasks of mourning. Worden, J. W. (2018). Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy (5th ed.). Springer.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main tasks of the grieving process?

Four, as set out on this sheet. Accept that the loss is real. Feel the pain rather than route around it. Adjust to a world without the person, taking on the roles they filled. Then find a way to keep a connection while moving forward. Each task carries its own goal and prompts.

What are the 4 stages of mourning?

This sheet uses tasks, not stages, which is a deliberate difference. Stages imply an order and an end point. The sheet states outright that the four tasks overlap and can be revisited, so a client returning to an earlier one is grieving normally rather than sliding backwards.

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Your Author

Tracy Collins, LCP

Tracy Collins is a licensed clinical psychologist with over six years of direct clinical experience in outpatient and telehealth settings. She specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy, structured treatment planning, and measurable therapy outcomes. Tracy has extensive experience writing SOAP and DAP notes, developing insurance-compliant treatment plans, and aligning documentation with ICD-10 and DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria. Her clinical approach integrates cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, behavioral activation, exposure-based interventions, and mindfulness-based strategies to create structured and outcome-driven therapy plans. At Mentalyc, Tracy supports therapists by creating educational resources that simplify documentation workflows and improve treatment plan defensibility during audits.