Grief and Loss Counseling in Antioch, CA.

Losing a loved one is hard in so many ways. In addition to missing them, we often find ourselves evaluating our relationship with them and what remained unsaid. Grief follows its own course, and friends and family may not understand your own individual process of grieving. I support clients in experiencing their grief, working through unresolved relationship issues, and in their own time, coming to terms with what they have lost.

I use an empathetic and compassionate approach combined with a range of specialized therapeutic techniques, including sensorimotor psychotherapy and internal family systems, to address Grief & Loss. Together we will master the intricacies of the grief process to enable a personalized and profound healing journey for those grappling with one of life's most challenging transitions. Clients will find solace and strength in my care, and I will create a safe space for exploration and growth, fostering resilience and understanding during grief. My methods not only alleviate the immediate pain of loss but also nurture a path towards long-term emotional well-being and empowerment.

Experiencing a loss, whether is a death or a relationship, can be one of the most difficult and life changing events one might go through in life. Grief comes in waves and can be overwhelming. Having a safe place to go express this grief and experience it can be very healing. Understanding how you might experience the grieving and loss process can be helpful when it feels like it is consuming you. Therapy can be a start to working through some of the feelings, emotions and thoughts about your loss. I will be able to support you through this process.

Having a safe caring environment to talk about your sorrow is the beginning of the healing process. Everyone goes through grief and loss in their own unique time and way. I can help you hold that pain as you explore and work through the many related emotions and issues that surface along with loss. You can get through this and begin to move toward living your life again without that dark cloud over you. You need not struggle through this alone. I can help you. Call for a consultation today and begin feeling better sooner rather than later.

Grief and loss comes in many shapes and forms and can take a toll on various aspects of your life. Processing grief and loss takes time and is different for everyone but doesn’t have to be done alone. I will offer support, empathy, and a safe space for you to process your emotions openly. Together we will get through this difficult time in your life. You are not alone.

I have taught and practiced grief counseling for over 24 years. One thing I observed early on is that people who share their grief with others progress through the stages of grief and get much relief, while those who try to grieve on their own seem to just stay locked into the early stages of suffering for many years. I offer compassionate and loving support through the process. Loving, gentle support can make all the difference.

Grief and loss can affect many areas of your life. Whether the type of loss you are experiencing is of a loved one, due to health challenges, location/geographical changes, friendship loss or career loss, it is important to give yourself a safe space and the needed time to process this new chapter of your life. Therapy can provide that space to discuss your process and how loss has impacted you. As your therapist, I will hold space with you and honor your experiences however they arrive.

Grief is one of the most universal experiences we have. It is also one of the most painful. Grief can occur as the result of loss of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of a job or a role, even loss of our hopes and dreams. There are many brands of grief and each can feel crushing! While each of us responds to grief in different ways, there are techniques that help us to heal from loss. Therapy can help you to manage the emotional overwhelm that accompanies grief, not so that we can forget what we've lost, but so that we can manage that loss in a more functional way.

Grief can be a difficulty beast to manage, a beast which can surface at any moment without warning and often comes in waves. When I’ve been grieving I’ve felt like I was in an emotional pong ball. With the aid of tools like EMDR CBT and guided visualizations I can help you to heal and leave the pain, loss, and grief in the past while holding on to the happy memories. Additionally, I can provide tools, coping skills, and other resources to help you manage this particular issue.

When you lose something or someone important or close to you, it may be difficult to make sense of life or to feel that others can relate to or understand what you are going through. If you need someone to talk to about what happened, I am here for you. I understand that sadness is often something that shouldn't be fixed, but embraced. I also specialize in helping people who were hurt or abused by the deceased. Grief and Loss is a painful time of life, one that every human being goes through. You are not alone. I will come alongside you through the anger, loneliness, fear, shock, and panic. In the middle of the grief, the way forward can bring hope, strength, peace and freedom from guilt.

Grief and loss is a part of so much more than many recognize in every day life. Most folks are familiar with the Kubler-Ross stages, but processing grief is much more than those five stages. There are tasks of mourning that can be explored and expanded with support in therapy. There are secondary losses as a result of an initial loss. Grief impacts how open we feel to new relationships in our lives. I work with clients to help them understand their responses to grief, move through their grief and feelings through expressive arts and verbal processing.

Whether it is the loss of a friend or family member or the ending of a marriage or relationship, the pain of loss is a powerful time to grieve and to reflect about the meaning of your own life. Therapy for grief and loss can offer the opportunity to change and grow in profound and deep ways due to the vulnerability of emotions that may normally be unfelt or unexpressed. It is an opportune time to get support and to share your internal world with another.

Grief and loss is not easy to work through. My approach to whether it is grieving the loss of a loved one or the loss of a relationship, I will support you and we will work together at a pace appropriate for you to first acknowledge your pain while working through the stages of grief and to learn ways to manage the familiar and unexpected emotions that are part of the loss. Also, you will learn to understand that your grieving process is your own and unique to you. Lastly, you will begin to create new meaning in your life.

Each person has a unique relationship and memories when there is a loss. I work with you to explore those relationships and work to mend and honor the relationship and memories in a way that is meaningful to you. I will give you space to talk about your grief. We will work on mending the hurt that may exist from guilt or anger. Honor the relationship as you begin to heal from the loss.

The topic of Grief & Loss covers a broad spectrum from loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job...even change. It helps to work with a caring and empathetic counselor who has the life experience to really "get" where you are coming from, to help you move to the other side of things so you dispell those acute feelings of loss and sadness. In addition to my 10 years of private practice experience in this area, I spent several years as a volunteer with the Centre for Living with Dying in Santa Clara, working with people suffering from feelings associated with horrible loss. With gender identity issues, another specialty of mine, there is also often a sense of grief & loss to overcome.

When we lose someone we love, it feels like we have lost a part of ourselves. Something within us has been torn out, leaving a hole that we easily imagine will never heal. The pain can be profound, the feelings of helplessness, or regret, or guilt overwhelming. Having a partnership where you can talk through these feelings can make a huge difference not only in how quickly and how well you are able to move through the process of grieving, but also how you ultimately are able to frame the experience and your memories of the person lost into the narrative of your own self and life as you move forward. What you carry with you afterward is just as important as surviving the hurt of the loss.

Grief and loss comes in all forms, from the death of a pet, to moving, to the loss of a dream, to the death of a child or spouse, and more. My clients discover grief and loss are a process (which includes: shock/disbelief, anger, blaming, depression/sadness, bargaining, and denial), and how to move through that process to an increased state of acceptance. As their state of acceptance increases, my clients experience an increase in forgiveness, healing, freedom and hope for the present and future. My clients see how they can begin to feel good about their life and future again.