For coaches, therapists and grief counsellors
A tool that opens the conversation
Grief is hard to put into words. An image and a single sentence make it easier to begin. The colour code shows you at a glance where your client is, and how that shifts between sessions.
A gentle way in
Clients who find it hard to talk can often say what they see in an image. The card takes away the pressure of the first word.
A visible process
The seven colours make the grieving process something you can talk about. Let your client name where they are, and follow it over several sessions.
Something to take home
A card as an anchor between two sessions. The sentence keeps working, even when your client is at home.
Individual session
One-to-one exercises
Colour of the day
A short check-in to start every session.
Lay out one card from each colour.
Ask your client to choose the colour that fits best today.
Have them draw a card from that colour and read the sentence aloud.
Note the colour in your file to follow the process.
What makes you choose this colour today?
Then, now and next
Three cards that tell a story together.
Lay out all the cards face up.
Your client deliberately chooses three cards: how it was then, how it is now, what they need.
Place them in a row and let your client tell the story.
Then turn the cards over together and read the backs.
What is needed to move from the second to the third card?
Image first
For clients who get stuck in their head or struggle to find words.
Have your client draw a card and cover the sentence.
Ask what they see and what is happening in the image.
Ask how it connects to their own loss.
Only then reveal the sentence and compare.
If you were in this image, where would you be?
A letter that starts with a card
The key sentence becomes the first line of a letter to the person who is gone.
Let your client choose a card they would like to give to the person who died.
Your client writes a letter that opens with that sentence.
Discuss the letter in the next session, if your client wishes.
What do you still want to say that was never said?
Anchor card
A card your client takes home until the next session.
Ask which card from today stayed with them most.
Let them take a photo of it or give them a second copy.
Agree when your client will look at it at home.
Start the next session with that card.
What do you want to remember from this sentence this week?
The colour line
Make the course of grief visible to your client.
Keep track of the colour your client chooses at each check-in.
After a few sessions, lay the chosen cards out in order.
Talk together about what stands out, including the steps back.
What helped you on the days that felt lighter?
Group work
Exercises for grief groups and teams
For grief groups, peer support, palliative care teams or a team that lost a colleague. Plan one deck for every six to eight participants.
Card circle
Lay all the cards face up in the middle.
Everyone silently chooses a card.
Each participant shares why in one or two sentences.
Anyone who wants to pass may pass. Say so beforehand.
Walk through the colours
Lay the cards out by colour on seven tables or on the floor.
Participants walk around slowly and stop where something touches them.
Each person chooses one card and finds a partner.
In duo’s vertellen ze tien minuten over hun kaart.
Listening with a card
Person A draws a card and talks for five minutes; B only listens.
B briefly sums up what they heard, without advice.
Swap roles.
Short group debrief: what was it like to only listen?
Remembrance circle
Place a candle or a photo in the middle.
Everyone lays down a card for the person they lost.
Everyone says one word or a name.
Close with a minute of silence.
Good to know
Points of attention when guiding
Not a diagnostic tool. De kleuren helpen het gesprek, ze bepalen niet waar iemand “hoort” te zitten. Laat de cliënt altijd zelf kiezen.
Stages are not a staircase. Explain that slipping back is normal. Feel free to combine the model with other frameworks, such as Stroebe and Schut's dual process model.
The right to pass. Especially in groups: nobody has to share. Say so beforehand and stick to it.
The cards are in English. The sentences are short and simple. For clients who speak another language, translating a sentence together often opens the conversation.
Know when to refer. If there are signs of prolonged, stuck grief or suicidal thoughts, refer to specialised help.
Ordering
The more decks, the lower the price
Do you use the cards in your practice or give clients a deck to take home? With the volume discount you pay less per deck. The discount is applied automatically in your cart.
Number of decks
Discount
Price per deck
For grief groups, care organisations and schools looking for more than twenty decks, we are happy to make a custom quote. Combinations with an on-site workshop are possible too.