Dr. Heidi Horsley teaches courses in Intervention for Grief Loss and Bereavement, Clinical Evaluation with Children, and Social Work with Children at Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW).  Dr. Horsley is a Licensed Psychologist and Social Worker.  She holds a Psychology Doctorate from the University of San Francisco, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University, and a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Loyola University in New Orleans.

Dr. Horsley hosts the syndicated talk radio show, Healing the Grieving Heart, which can be heard live every Thursday.  This show is one of the top ranked shows on Health Voice America and is re-broadcast on World Talk Radio, the World’s Largest Radio Network.  She serves as Co-Founder and National Board Member of the Open to Hope Foundation, an international organization committed to providing hope and resources to grieving individuals, and on the advisory board of OurConservatory, a non-profit organization providing at risk youth an opportunity to explore their musical potential in a safe supportive environment. 

Since 2002 she has worked as a co-investigator for the FDNY-CSU/Columbia University Family Guidance Program.  This program provides ongoing intervention to facilitate coping of spouses and children of firefighters killed in the WTC disaster.  She has also conducted workshops for 9/11 bereaved siblings.  In addition, she gives presentations and seminars throughout the country, and teaches continuing education workshops for health care professionals on the psychological treatment of loss.  Dr. Horsley appeared on ABC’s 20/20 television program, and has been interviewed on numerous radio shows as well as quoted in the Washington Post and NY Daily News.  Her research interests and publications are in the area of grief and loss, and her doctoral dissertation was on the sudden death of a sibling. 

Dr. Horsley received her clinical training at Manhattan Psychiatric Center, St. Lukes/Roosevelt Hospital, and California Pacific Medical Center in the adult and child psychiatry departments.  She has a wide range of clinical experience, which includes work in a university counseling center, a residential treatment center, a mental health clinic, a juvenile detention facility, and several school settings. 


Recent Publications:

Hipple, E., Horsley, G. & Horsley, H. (2008). Real Men Do Cry:  A Quarterback’s Inspiring Story of Tackling Depression and Surviving Suicide Loss. Quality of Life Publishing.

Horsley, G. &  Horsley, H. (2007). Teen Grief Relief: Parenting with Understanding, Support and Guidance. Rainbow Books.

Packman, W., Horsley, H., Davies, B., Kramer, R. (2006). Sibling bereavement and continuing bonds. Death Studies, 30: 817-841.

Horsley, H. & Patterson, T. (2006). The Effects of a Parent Guidance Intervention on Communication among Adolescents who have Experienced the Sudden Death of a Sibling. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 34 (2): 119-137.

Horsley, H. (2006, March). Continuing bonds: How to honor sibling loss.  The Link: A Newsletter for FDNY Families from the Counseling Service Unit of the Fire Dept. of New York.

Horsley, G., & Horsley, H. (2006). Continuing bonds. The Compassionate Friends Magazine: We Need Not Walk Alone, pp. 19-20.

Horsley, H. (2002). Teenagers grieve, too! The Compassionate Friends Magazine: We Need Not Walk Alone, pp. 6.

Last updated July 01, 2009.