The Care Timeline & Follow-Up Protocol

Grief is not a race, and it does not follow a schedule. You cannot expect someone to feel better after one visit — especially if they are leaning on an AI clone or have lost a career to automation. This page gives you the whole journey at a glance: four phases of care, the follow-up rhythm between visits, and how to know when intensive care is done.

The care timeline

Four phases, paced over months, tracking Worden’s Four Tasks of Grief:

Week 1

First contact & safety check

Goal: listen, check safety, build trust.

Visit in person. Let them tell the story of the loss.
Run the Referral Traffic Light — watch for Red Light behaviors.
If an AI clone or job despair comes up: just listen. No judging, no fixing yet.

Grief Task 1 Accepting the reality of the loss — you help simply by showing up and speaking of what is gone.

Weeks 2–4

Sitting in the pain

Goal: help them face raw emotion without fleeing to screens.

Visit weekly or every two weeks.
Expect tears, anger, numbness — all normal.
If the AI clone is a way to avoid sadness, gently invite the feelings to you instead: “It is okay to feel sad when you are with me. You don’t have to put on a brave face.”

Grief Task 2 Processing the pain of grief.

Weeks 5–8

Setting gentle boundaries

Goal: first small steps back into the real world.

Begin using Recovery Coaching ideas.
Agree on one tiny screen boundary — the AI app off for one afternoon a week, traded for the porch or the yard.
After a job loss: find one small offline activity they enjoy that has nothing to do with work.

Grief Task 3 Adjusting to a changed world.

Month 3 +

Rebuilding & reconnecting

Goal: a healthy way to remember, inside a full offline life.

Space visits out to once a month.
Encourage a small group, a committee, or volunteering.
Help them move from talking to a program to remembering through prayer, memorials, and family storytelling.

Grief Task 4 Finding an enduring connection while embarking on a new life.

Between visits: the follow-up rhythm

Grieving people are loneliest in the quiet stretches between visits. Three habits keep them connected:

Within 48 hours

The text check-in

Two days after each visit, send a short, no-pressure message.

“Hi [Name], I was just praying for you today and remembering our conversation. You don’t need to reply — I just wanted you to know you are loved and not alone. Peace be with you.”

Weekly

The prayer reminder

Lift their name at staff or lay-team meetings. With their permission, add them to the church’s confidential prayer list.

Key dates

Mark your calendar

The first year is the hardest. Note the one-month anniversary of the death or job loss, the deceased’s birthday, and major holidays. On those days, send a card, call, or drop off a small treat.

“I know today might be a hard day as you remember [Name]. Our church family is holding you in our prayers today.”

Closing the loop: when are we done?

Intensive one-on-one care is a season, not a permanent arrangement. The goal is a healthy return to the ordinary rhythm of community life. Wind down your visits when all three are true:

They are consistently sleeping, eating, and caring for themselves.

AI-clone use is limited, and time with real people is growing.

They show up — services, small groups, community events — on their own.

Then do not just stop showing up. Close warmly:

”We have been meeting for a few months now, and I am so incredibly proud of the steps you have taken. I have watched you face this deep pain and begin to build a new routine in your life.

While we are going to end our regular weekly visits, please know that you are still a vital part of this church. I will still see you on Sundays, and our lay team is always here for you. Let’s celebrate how far God has brought you on this journey.”