Grief and Loss Counseling in Calabasas, CA.

Grief is a normal reaction to any type of loss. The therapeutic objective is to help bereaved individuals recover from the emotional pain caused by the loss. Therapy goals consist of: recovery from the loss to help the client feel better, choosing a healthier approach to grieving, finding new meaning for living, reducing fears and unhealthy ways for dealing with the loss, and having the ability to enjoy memories and connecting to the deceased rather than resorting to isolation/depression. My therapeutic approach consists of educating about the stages of loss, working on issues complicating the grief process, validating emotions and teaching better coping mechanisms to handle the loss.

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.

There are losses so large that ordinary words seem to fail them, and yet finding words is often exactly what helps us survive them. If you're carrying a grief that feels too heavy or too tangled to speak about, you don't have to carry it alone or explain it perfectly. In our sessions, you can bring whatever is there: the sorrow, the memories, the things you wish you'd said, the parts of the loss no one else seems to understand. I'll help you give them a voice and make sense of an experience that may feel senseless right now. I've worked with many grieving people, and I've witnessed even the heaviest of grief resolve. Whenever you're ready, call me so we can work through your pain together.

The perception of grieving must be processed and understood before coping with loss can begin. There is individual timing in the grieving process, before the return to re-discovery. We are alive. What do we to do when we lose an attachment; positive or a negative one, who was part of our life? There are a number of emotions that emerge; confusion, sadness, guilt. Turn to your spiritual family and your friends. Take care of yourself. Continue to exercise; eat healthily; get plenty of sleep; work at letting go of feeling guilty. Verbally and emotionally express your loss. Say what you never got to say. Accept emotional support. Do not isolate

My approach to grief and loss is compassionate, supportive, and deeply individualized and personal. I provide a safe space to process the many emotions that accompany loss while assisting clients in adjusting to change as well as rediscovering a sense of identity. Together we will find meaningful ways to move forward without one feeling like they are leaving the person or the life behind that feels lost.

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.