AVON, CONN. – Carmon Community Funeral Homes is expanding its follow-up care programs by introducing the “New Day Counseling Center,” according to a news release. New Day Counseling Center is a partnership between the Carmon family and staff and Debbi Knox, a certified grief? recovery specialist and family therapist. The new center is located at 412 West Avon Road in Avon, Conn., next to Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center, which is at 301 Country Club Road.
“We created this new program with Debbi Knox to meet the bereavement needs of families that our family and staff serve in our nine Greater Hartford locations, and we invite anyone else in Connecticut who is seeking support after the death of a loved one to take advantage of this resource,” said John C. Carmon, president of Carmon Community Funeral Homes and a past president of the National Funeral Directors Association and the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association; the family-owned funeral homes have been serving Connecticut for 64 years. “For more than a decade, we have offered support programs for adults, teens and children through Mary’s Place, A Center for Grieving Children and Families in Windsor – an invaluable resource for hundreds in our region. We welcome Debbi and her experience and empathy as we offer another option for grieving families and individuals,” Carmon added.
One of the few family therapists in the Greater Hartford and the Farmington Valley who focuses on grief and loss counseling due to death, illness and life transitions, Debbi Knox is certified as a grief recovery specialist and holds a Masters degree in science, marriage and family therapy. Her therapeutic expertise includes training in Internal Family Systems, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Sandtray Therapy – an innovative, expressive play tool used by children, adolescents, adults, families, couples and groups. Knox also is a volunteer mentor for divorcing families, a volunteer Step-Family support group leader, and is a former foster parent.
“New Day Counseling Center is a comfortable place of hope and healing for people who have experienced a loss by offering them support, counseling and therapy,” Knox said. “There are many different types of loss and we can provide extra support and guidance through a challenging time, or help people who are just ready to move in a new direction in their lives.”
New Day Counseling Center is designed in a warm living room-like setting. There is an area for creative expression for people of all ages, which includes art supplies, games and music and relaxation CDs. Knox appreciates the fact that, “people have different grieving styles, and while it may be too difficult and painful for some to express in words, they might communicate more easily through the arts.”
Knox offers personal and group-setting counseling sessions. A community lending library is located in the Center, offering books and resources on grief work and bereavement, childhood grief and inspirational literature for all ages.
Starting February, ongoing peer bereavement support groups will be offered for individuals and families who have lost loved ones. All groups will be held in the New Day Counseling Center and are free of charge, courtesy of Carmon Community Funeral Homes. All groups require pre-registration by calling Knox at 860-269-0510.
The staff and services of New Day Counseling Center and Carmon Community Funeral Homes are available to local businesses and schools whenever they need bereavement support. In addition, Knox is available to do community education presentations in local retirement communities, senior centers and houses of worships of all faiths.
For more information about the Carmon Community Funeral Homes, visit www.carmonfuneralhomes.com or call 888-688-8475.
For more information about Debbi Knox and New Day Counseling Center, call 860-269-0510 or visit www.NewDayCounselingCenter.com.
Posted Feb. 2