Grief and Loss Counseling in Pleasanton, CA.

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.

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 sometimes something that shouldn't be fixed, but embraced. I will come alongside you, listen to you, and support you in the journey of making sense of what has happened to you. Grief and Loss is a painful time of life, but its one that every human being goes through. You are not alone. One strategy I use to help my Grief/Loss clients is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) where I help you explore unhelpful thoughts

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 is often complicated by a painful, irrational belief that you could have done something different to prevent it. Using EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), clients can experience relief from the tremendous burden they carry of what they should have/could have/ought to have done differently. Through the processing of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories, clients feel a greater sense of relief and acceptance.

When we encounter real tragedy in our lives, few of us have readily available tools for the ongoing pain that accompanies mourning, grieving, and loss. Tapping into authentic moments of grief can help us move beyond the pain and expand our idea of who we are as we grieve, yet doing this alone can be overwhelming and even scary at times. Grief work is critical to healing, and having a compassionate and seasoned guide to support the journey can be the means to feel, grow, learn, and ultimately heal from the grief of loss. Please know that you do not have to suffer alone. Grief can open many old wounds and you so deserve not to have to do this alone. I'm here, I can help, and I care.

The experience of grief and loss, while expected at various life stages, can result in physical pain, and the emergence of symptoms that lead to experiencing a slow downward spiral in overall wellbeing, and perhaps desire to withdrawal from personal and professional commitments. Many clients seek compassionate and sensitive guidance to navigate through the ups and downs of any number of losses, ranging from diminishing health, to ending a relationship, or other life transition. Together, clients and I develop a transformative plan to stabilize, heal, gain insight and to enhance their proficiency to improve the strength needed to reconstitute their skills and hopes for today and the future.

There is no timeline for people to recover from grief. Grief can be complicated, most notably accompanied by depression, or by the person’s level of dependency on the departed. I will guide the patient into the basic foundation of their grief, encourage clients to explore their reaction to grief, their symptoms and their goals. I will attempt to redirect the patient’s goals from inward-directed goals (making themselves feel better) to outward-directed goals (goals related to outside events).I will provide the client with coping mechanisms that reduce feelings of blame and guilt.