Lyn Prashant, Founder and CEO / Somatic Thanatologist on Influential Women
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Influential Woman · Mental Health Care and Grief Counseling

Lyn Prashant

Founder and CEO / Somatic Thanatologist, Degriefing

Laredo, TX 78046

41Years experience

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree University of Integrative Learning - PhD Cert Fellow in Thanatology Member Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC)

Her Story

About Lyn

Lyn Prashant, PhD, FT, is a somatic thanatologist, bilingual integrative grief and loss therapist, educator, keynote speaker, and end-of-life care specialist with more than four decades of experience helping individuals, families, and communities navigate bereavement and other significant life losses. She is the founder and CEO of Degriefing.com, an organization dedicated to grief counseling, education, professional training, and integrative therapeutic approaches. Based in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Lyn provides individual counseling, group programs, private grief relief retreats, and professional mentoring in both English and Spanish. Her approach, known as Degriefing, emphasizes the potential for grief to become a catalyst for personal transformation through therapies that address both the emotional and physical dimensions of loss.

Throughout her career, Lyn has trained mental health professionals, marriage and family therapists, psychiatric social workers, addiction specialists, hospice personnel, and other caregivers in practical approaches to grief counseling and bereavement support. Her professional experience includes delivering a keynote presentation at the Mayo Clinic's 12th Annual Alzheimer's Conference, leading international training sessions, and supporting hospice professionals in Cape Town, South Africa. She has also provided crisis intervention and grief support for employees and families affected by workplace fatalities. As an educator and trainer, Lyn emphasizes the importance of self-care, meaning-making, and integrative therapeutic techniques to help professionals address compassion fatigue, burnout, and bereavement overload. Her work has been featured in professional publications, including Sibling Loss Across the Life Span: Research, Practice, and Personal Stories and New Techniques in Grief Counseling, in which she contributed a chapter on caregiver burden.

Lyn's dedication to grief transformation is deeply rooted in her personal experiences with loss, including the death of her husband, Mark, and the loss of her sister, Donna. These experiences helped shape her commitment to supporting others through bereavement and honoring the lives of those who influenced her journey, including Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and Stephen Levine. As a Fellow in Thanatology through the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), she continues to advance education and compassionate care in the fields of death, dying, and bereavement. Through her counseling, writing, retreats, and certification programs, Lyn encourages individuals and professionals to approach grief with greater understanding and compassion, recognizing that healing does not require forgetting a loss but developing a new relationship with it.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Lyn

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to my 40-year journey in grief and loss transformation, shaped by my early work with the Living Dying Project and the personal loss of my partner at age 36. My experiences led me from being the University of Connecticut Husky mascot to becoming a somatic thanatologist specializing in embodied grief, helping others transform loss into growth, healing, and renewed purpose.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The most meaningful career lessons I have learned come from using my experience in grief and loss counseling to educate and support others. My work with professionals, families affected by suicide, and initiatives addressing AI’s impact on teenagers has strengthened my commitment to raising awareness and making a difference. I am motivated to honor my sister Donna’s memory by continuing this mission and helping others navigate grief with greater understanding and compassion.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I encourage young women entering my field to recognize the importance of addressing grief and loss openly, especially in healthcare and professional settings. Educate yourself, use your voice to raise awareness, and help others understand how unresolved grief affects individuals, workplace productivity, and society. Through education, advocacy, and compassion, we can normalize conversations about loss and create environments where people feel supported and understood.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

One of the biggest challenges in my field is being able to reach and support every person who needs help. Transitioning from in-person office work to online services has created new opportunities to connect with individuals wherever they are and provide grief support as needs arise.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

The values most important to me are compassion, service, and helping others navigate grief and loss. Through my personal experiences, I have learned how emotional pain can affect the body, inspiring me to use integrative therapies, including massage and yoga, to support healing. I am passionate about helping healthcare professionals address compassion fatigue and burnout while sharing my story to raise awareness, foster understanding, and remind others that healing is possible.

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