Grief and Loss Counseling in Richmond, CA.

There are endless opportunities for loss in this lifetime- the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, a pet, lost potential, loss of a part of yourself through trauma. Whether your loss is recent or long-passed, it can have crippling affects on your relationships, your sense of security, and your sense of self. The loss you experience can leave you feeling lost and the grief that accompanies this can feel insurmountable. It's easy to become fearful that this will never change, to sink into the hopelessness you feel. It seems like an impossible task, but if you're on this site you have hope. Together, you and I can build on that hope.

During times of loss - death, divorce, disability and profound life changes - we all need support and understanding to regain our strength and ability to carry on. It usually takes months, even years, to fully integrate our changed circumstances into our lives. My goal is to provide a supportive, empathic atmosphere to help you move through your pain and suffering and discover new direction and meaning for your future. Please visit KinseyLeaseCounseling.com for more.

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.

More than 35 million Americans are living with some form of chronic mental or physical illness or disability. The vast majority depend upon their families for care. Caring for a family member who is ill can have a dramatic effect upon a family. Although it can provide opportunities for closeness, it can also be stressful. If you or someone you love is ill, you may need psychological support to continue to live life as optimally as possible. You may also need help in processing your grief, especially if your loved one has become debilitated or has died. Please call me to discuss your particular needs and how counseling can help. I can be reached at 415-533-9724.

Grief and loss are universal human experiences, though few of us are given the tools or the support we need to express our grief, or, when the time is right, make our way back to life after loss. We are each unique in our response to the loss of people and things that are dear to us. Nevertheless, it does not serve us well either to try to ignore our experiences of painful loss or to keep them at the center of our experience for the rest of our days. I help people move through their grief at a pace that makes sense to them, and I help them, over time, to value the many gifts from who or what has been lost for their ongoing experience of life.

Grief and loss is, unfortunately, a normal part of living. There is no single "correct" way to grieve: different cultures and even individuals from the same culture grieve differently. The only consistent feature is that grief takes time. The most effective thing anyone can do for someone grieving is to be there—to listen, to empathize, to walk along with the grief. There is no "fixing" grief. But counseling can help prevent normal grief from developing into major depression or other mental health conditions.

Experiencing the loss of a loved one, a job, your health, a home or country of origin, a pet or any number of other types of losses, can be very isolating, overwhelming and painful. Having a warm empathic space to process all the feelings that will arise is crucial to your getting through tough times and to your ongoing internal healing process. Together, we will gain deeper insight in to the experience of your loss(es) and develop life affirming ways to cope inside and outside the therapy room.

It can be a tremendous challenge to return to our daily life following a loss, and grieving does not have a time limit or expiration date. While our society may not be built to allow space for processing loss or grieving, in therapy with me you can expect to find all the space you need to move through your own process at your own pace. With my unwavering support, you will feel encouraged to authentically explore your grieving needs and to honor the gravity of your loss.

The good news is that there is effective therapy for grief, loss, and bereavement in Oakland. Therapy begins with having a safe place to be able to talk about how you really feel, with someone who can accept your pain without judgement or fear and with whom you can be yourself. EMDR and somatic interventions are excellent for those times when grief, loss, and bereavement involve complicated grief, anxiety, depression, and trauma. CBT offers research based help for depression and irrational thoughts about grief, loss, and bereavement. I offer these therapies to people who are grieving in Oakland. Call 415-820-1487 for a free phone consultation.

I find that so much of my work as a psychotherapist involves helping people to grieve their losses, whether that loss is an actual death of a beloved family member or friend, or whether it is something less tangible, but no less impactful, such as the loss that comes from realizing that they were neglected as a child or made to feel unworthy or insignificant. I believe that one of the most important things I do as a therapist is to make space for my clients to grieve their losses so that they can free up stuck energy to invest in their present lives and relationships. For me this is one of the most sacred gifts of my profession, to be able to be there for this deeply important work

If you're grieving, you know too well how flat and empty the world can seem. Grief is a natural process that is something to be lived through rather than avoided, but there is a graceful way of doing so, beginning with self-compassion and opening your heart to the range of feelings you may experience. As a grief counselor I can help you through this experience—help you process your loss without getting mired in despair. In addition to simply being able to sit with you in your pain, I'll offer guidance through this territory, and help you explore the meaning of your loss, in a way that will allow you to gain nurturance, succor and support from their memory.

You may be in the throws of it right now. Perhaps it is a death. Perhaps it is the end of a relationship. Perhaps it is a job or abandonment. There are many things that trigger our grief and loss. I carve out a sacred space that is just for YOU. You may need to cry. You may need to yell. You may need your pain to be seen. You may need to bargain or to blame yourself for a while. We can do this together while making sure you are on a path towards transformation. Having somebody that really listens and really gets it is the first step towards healing. If you are experiencing a deep grief or loss in your life, you owe it to yourself to go through this painful process supported.

Having lost a son, I know from personal experience about grief and how to help people work through the stages of grief and loss. It is never easy, and I always approach the person seeking help with tremendous gentleness and compassion. Since everyone has a different response to loss I find that the best counseling is collaborative, finding a way together through what sometimes seems insurmountable. I also make myself available by phone on a daily basis. Especially in the early phase of grief such support can make a tremendous difference. Depending on the client's comfort level, I offer a wider, spiritual perspective and non-sectarian spiritual practices as well.