Grief and Loss Counseling in La Palma, CA.

I am a therapist specializing in grief and loss and life transitions. I have been offering bereavement counseling services to children, teens and adults for the past 12 years. My office is located in Redondo Beach and offers a pleasant and safe atmosphere. I also provide grief support groups based around specific types of loss. I help clients build on their strengths and find meaning during difficult times.

Sometimes loss is unbearable. If you are suffering from a depression brought on by the death of a loved one or the loss of something else immensely important to you, I can help. Maybe you've lost hope, as if there is no reason to get out of bed anymore. Psychotherapy with a caring therapist can help tremendously. Psychotherapy can help you move the stages of grief at a pace that is comfortable for you.

"Aren't you over that yet?" "Is that still bothering you?" I dislike those phrases very much! Everyone grieves differently and no two losses are the same. A loss can be characterized by a move, having to re-home a pet, changing jobs, and of course the loss of a loved one. One might feel angry while another might feel relieved. Someone might need a month off of work whereas another only a couple of days. It is okay and you can heal. I can help you sort through your feelings and you can feel better. Call me Today at 714-432-9856.

As a hosptial chaplain and licensed therapist, I have years of experience working with people who are experiencing the loss of someone they loved who has died. When someone we love dies, we are never prepared for this. It is like losing an arm, how do you cope when your arm is gone? As a grief therapist, you will benefit from my years of experience and caring support helping you to grieve your loss. Counseling will help you to properly say goodbye and process the pain and feelings of anger, depression, and acceptance. You also will benefit from learning new ways to cope and adjust so that you do not remain stuck in loneliness.

Among the benefits of grief counseling are: normalizing (grief feels strange but it is universal); making meaning (coming to terms with our mortality); and the opportunity to express feelings, safely and in full, about the person who has died. When a client suffers a loss during or prior to treatment, I communicate the message that each of us is entitled to a grief process of our own, with its own tempo, mood, and meaning, all of which fluctuate, often in complex ways. The support of an empathic person can help you walk the painful path that grief puts before you, a path which leads out of grief and back to life.

The loss of a family member or a close friend can be a traumatic event. It's common to have a mixture of feelings at this time as well as difficulty picturing how our life can go on without our loved one. In therapy it can be helpful to reminisce about our experiences with them and articulate the feelings we have, no matter what the feelings or experiences are. All while in a private and safe environment

Most often when we lose loved ones in our lives we are expected to get back to our daily routine only days or weeks after our loss. But grieving takes time. We need time to think, feel, and process in a safe space with someone who cares. Dr. Simina's warm and genuine approach provides individuals with the opportunity to feel, grieve, and process through all that the loss of a loved one brings.

Loss in all its forms in an integral facet of life. Most of us have formed deep bonds with spouses, family, and friends, and grieving is both a testimony to the deep importance of those others to us, and part of a difficult, gradual process of letting go. Therapy work includes the honoring of either ended or failed relationships--deaths of many types--and also the grieving of we go through due to illness and aging.. A good therapist-patient relationship deals with numerous such painful "necessary losses", as well with successes in life.

Loss isn’t something we “get over.” It’s something we get through. And healing takes time. Relationships don’t end when someone you love dies, leaves home, or gives up. You continue to carry that person with you going forward. It’s important to be patient with the grief process, and to talk about your loss with someone who doesn’t try to rush you, or paint a smiley face on your loss. Let’s talk. Let’s celebrate what was good, what you will miss, what made that relationship unique. Shakespeare said it best when he suggested we “Give sorrow words.” Talking is healing when someone really understands.

Losing a loved one, including a pet can cause severe pain and suffering. We need to grieve. Sometimes, we need permission or help to allow us to grieve. Therapy gives us the opportunity to share our experiences, remember our loved ones, express our emotions and allow us to let the loved one rest in peace.

I cannot make your grief disappear, though I sure wish I could. But I can help you learn to live with your loss, so that day by day you can begin to rebuild, move forward, and of course, honor what you have lost. Many clients come to me with a goal of making the grief go away; they want to fast forward to where they don't feel the pain anymore. Having worked with trauma survivors for so long (and your loss is traumatic for you) I know this approach does not work. Those emotions just get buried and they always come back. In therapy you will learn how to create a safe space to grieve without feeling overwhelmed. You will learn how to find new meaning from your experiences and find peace.

We may all experience the grief and loss of a loved one, a pet, a home, a sense of belonging, a career, finances or stature in life. There needs to be a time to grieve, as well as a time to be cared for and held. As co-therapists in the room together, we nurture, we provide safety, and we offer perspectives. We work on the tools couples need to get the support they deserve from each other. We believe it is essential to explore shutting down and isolating and the paths to getting back to each other. We help build safe structures to support holding the memories, the loneliness, the complexity and the growth.

Loss and grief are an inevitable part of life. The loss of a loved one, friend, job or life-stye may result in painful experience. Talking through the feelings of shock, disbelief, sadness, anger, and guilt can be a tremendous help at these times. It can hasten your progress toward acceptance of the loss and the new world of possibility that awaits you. An experienced therapist of 32 years, I have guided many people through this journey and have seen the wonderful benefits of a safe, caring and encouraging relationship during times like these.