LIGIA M HOUBEN, MA, FT, FAAGC, CPC

Ligia M. Houben, MA, FT, FAAGC, CPC, is a Fellow in Thanatology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Grief Counseling.  Ligia is an international grief specialist and author, and she has devoted her life to help others transform their losses and their lives.  A pioneer in working with Hispanic people and grief, Houben is the author of Counseling Hispanics through Loss, Grief, and Bereavement: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals (Springer, 2011).  Ligia has presented about the needs of Hispanic people in times of loss on many occasions, including to the Association for Death, Education and Counseling (ADEC), the Baptist Health System and the International Death, Grief, and Bereavement Conference at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.

She contributed to the creation of the first bereavement support group in her native country of Nicaragua, PUDE – an anagram for Personas Unidas en el Dolor y la Esperanza (People Joined by Pain and Hope), and for nine years, she co-trained Hispanic people to become facilitators in bereavement support groups in churches.

Ligia M. Houben is a former adjunct professor of Florida International University, Miami Dade College, and Kaplan University, where she taught courses on ethics, religion, and death and dying.  She is the founder of My Meaningful Life, LLC. and the Center for Transforming Lives in Miami, Florida.  Ligia has delivered her message to audiences ranging from corporations, educational institutions, and health care organizations, including Baptist Health System Florida, Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami Hospital and Vitas Healthcare.  She has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, airing on networks such as CNN Español, NPR, NBC and Univisión.