Grief

When someone you love dies, the world keeps spinning, but yours feels like it’s come to a full stop. Grief can feel crushing, disorienting, lonely, and completely out of sync with what others expect from you. And while there’s no “right” way to grieve, our culture often makes people feel like they’re doing it wrong.

And here’s the thing: grief isn’t just about death (though that kind of loss often hits the hardest). You might also be grieving a relationship, a version of yourself, or a future you hoped for. However it shows up, grief is real, valid, and worthy of care, even when it’s messy, complicated, or hard to put into words.

I believe grief deserves space, without needing to be rushed, fixed, or wrapped up with a bow. In therapy, that means we sit with the messiness. We name what was lost, explore what it meant to you, and make space for all the emotions that come up, whether that’s sadness, relief, anger, guilt, or all of the above (sometimes all at once). Grief often brings up past pain too, and part of this work can include honoring those older wounds as they resurface.

Tools I use in this approach: 

Because grief is such an individual experience, I take a personalized approach depending on what each client needs. I often draw from EMDR when grief feels tangled up with trauma or when certain aspects of grief (like guilt) feel stuck. I also use Internal Family Systems (IFS) to explore the different emotional parts of you that show up in grief: maybe a part that’s heartbroken, a part that’s numb, and another that’s pressuring you to “get over it.”

In addition, I pull from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients make space for painful feelings while still connecting to what matters most, and from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to challenge unhelpful beliefs that might be complicating the grieving process.

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Feeling ready to get to work? Let’s connect!

​You can reach out via my contact form, or you can click here to request a free 15-minute intro call at a time that works for you!