Grief and Loss Counseling in Los Alamitos, CA.

All of us experience grief and loss at some point in our lives. Our culture, however, is often not well-equipped to handle it, and we can sometimes struggle alone in our grief. In therapy, I aim to create a safe space where you will feel supported. In addition to a safe environment to express your grief, therapy can provide an understanding of the process of grieving and skills to help you through that process. Please reach out to see if therapy might benefit you as you work your way through grief and loss.

I know grief too well, having lost significant, beautiful people in my life. Thus, I am able to help you navigate the complex waves of emotions that overtake us in grief and leave us feeling depleted and empty. 1 Corinthians 12 (Living Bible) states that, "Love never ends". Christ promised we will meet our loved ones again in eternity. This is the greatest comfort one can hold onto in time of grief and loss.

Coping with grief and loss is unique to each person and situation. Grief is a natural response to losing someone or something that has meant a great deal to you and been part of your life. Even changes in your health, career, or lifestyle, can cause grief. I approach each case by starting where you are. Although there are different "stages" to working through grief and loss, each person experiences these stages in different ways, durations and may even revisit some of these stages multiple times throughout the process. My goal is to allow you the opportunity to experience each stage at your own pace while focusing on maintaining your health.

Dealing with Grief is an important part of living well. Loss is a part of life, so we all have to find ways to deal with it. Sometimes the grief we feel results in normal ups and downs that we can manage on our own. But sometimes the grief gets so painful that we need the help of a trained therapist to help us find our way out of it. If your grief is lasting too long, or your sadness is going too deep don't try to go through this on your own. We have trained professionals who can come along side of you and help.

Grief is a painful and frightening process and it's important to recognize that each individual experiences grief in a different way. There is no "right way" to grieve. Some people may show a lot of emotion and others may retreat into themselves and become quiet. Alternatively, some people may become physically ill, display anger, throw themselves into a project or work, or simply lay on the couch and feel unable to do anything. Psychotherapy helps in understanding the grief process and assists in actively working through it. It also helps in developing an awareness of the strong feelings you have and an understanding of how previous experiences and loss have an impact today.

Loss can take different forms, and going through loss is one of life's biggest challenges. I understand this and believe it is essential for those going through a loss to talk about it, feel it, and grieve it. In time, healing will occur but time itself does not heal. I will provide a safe place for you to explore how your loss affects your life and help you to use the resources, time, and tools necessary to not only get through it -- but grow through it -- and survive.

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.

Clients will learn how to integrate their loss and grief into their life going forward. I am compassionate in my approach and aim to restore a sense of purpose to continue living a meaningful and productive life while honoring the emotional and physical loss you are enduring. Finding acceptance and the courage to forgive yourself or others, is often crucial in resuming your journey through life and moving through the pain. Give yourself the chance to improve the quality of your life.

Grief hurts. The loss of a love hurts. And other losses too - like the loss of a job or a move. Are you tired of well-meaning friends who just don't get it? You hurt. You want love and support but some people are in your life are trying to get you to make (or change) decisions that don't feel quite right. Here is what we at OC Relationship Center know: It takes as long as it takes. And sometimes it takes an unbiased third party to help you sort it all out. Please let us help. If you are struggling with grief or loss, please visit http://OCRelationshipCenter.com or call us at 949.381.5778. We want to help you feel better and sort this all out.

Grief counseling helps people cope with grief and mourning following the loss of a loved one or due to major life changes that trigger feelings of grief (i.e. job loss or divorce). It provides a space for individuals to work through and process the complex emotions surrounding loss. Healthy grieving results in remembering the loss with a newfound sense of peace, rather than searing pain.

Grey Matters International and the work of Kevin J. Fleming, Ph.D approaches issues of grief & loss through the lens of innovation----instead of growing the same neural networks responsible for the pain in weekly therapy sessions, we reset the brain to move forward quicker and efficiently by working on the stuck limbic system so as to empower the person with more success and traction. For no one wants to stay in a grief mode for too long; but when you don’t include the brain in your work with someone, you risk describing the water to them while they drown and calling it success. Contact Grey Matters International, Inc now at kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.

Very few losses are easy. Even persons who extensively prepare for loss are not ready for the intensity of how it feels when it happens. We cope with life by forming valued relationships and attachments to things. We need our attachments and loss can make it feel like we do not know how we can go on. A dilemma with loss is that reality demands that we move on, while to let go is to invite many painful and difficult feelings. I will respect both as you try to move forward through the hard feelings and the often unpredictable stages of grieving, so that you can find a way to cope, face up to, and move forward with your life.

When someone is grieving, it is sometimes difficult to know what to say. People feel awkward and often are reduced to well-meaning platitudes. There is no magic wand to take away the feelings experienced in grief but having a place of safety and honesty can be an important step on the road to restoration. Being able to talk, weep, get angry and feel the feelings is often present in the early stages. The purpose of grief work is not about forgetting remembering with love in spite of the wounds it leaves behind.