Grief and Loss Counseling in Richmond, CA.

Having a safe caring environment to talk about your sorrow is the beginning of the healing process. Everyone goes through grief and loss in their own unique time and way. I can help you hold that pain as you explore and work through the many related emotions and issues that surface along with loss. You can get through this and begin to move toward living your life again without that dark cloud over you. You need not struggle through this alone. I can help you. Call for a consultation today and begin feeling better sooner rather than later.

Grief and Loss are an inevitable life happenings and we at Barn Life Recovery work with clients suffering from grief and loss. We offer long term support for grief and loss at Barn Life. We use modern western psychotherapy alongside eastern modalities aimed at treating the whole person and putting our clients back onto a path of joy and contentment.

Grief is a necessary response to loss, from the daily losses of change and pain, to tragic losses of death, divorce and various forms of trauma. When Grief is not allowed to express fully, it can become stuck in the body where it manifests as physical symptoms of stress, illness, longer term depression. When one is stuck in Grief, one is stuck in living a partial life. An integrative approach involves working with the thoughts and emotions, as well as the physical release of the grief through body/mind processes such as breathwork, hypnotherapy and expression through art or ritual. Grief is then transformed at all levels of being so that one can feel fully connected to living again.

In addition to working with grief from the loss of a loved one, I also help people experience and heal grief that is more subtle. Early life neglect, abandonment, as well as deep regrets about unfulfilled potentials or about hurts we have caused others- can be potent forms of grief. When not recognized or experienced, loss can be expressed as irritability, restlessness, addictions, frustrations, lethargy and other physical/emotional symptoms. Identifying loss and developing the capacity to experience and express grief (pain, sadness, remorse..) is a powerful healing- and can transform our self and our body.

Experiencing a loss, whether is a death or a relationship, can be one of the most difficult and life changing events one might go through in life. Grief comes in waves and can be overwhelming. Having a safe place to go express this grief and experience it can be very healing. Understanding how you might experience the grieving and loss process can be helpful when it feels like it is consuming you. Therapy can be a start to working through some of the feelings, emotions and thoughts about your loss. I will be able to support you through this process.

Children express grief differently from adults and their grief can look different at various ages. For example an infant will experience the loss of a significant caregiver through his or her senses (father's cologne, mother's skin, nanny's voice). A school aged child may ask a lot of questions or not seem affected at all from the outside. While many children can be resilient, they are often the "forgotten mourners." Unresolved grief can lead to problems down the road.

Each of us will experience grief and loss within our lives. Some losses can feel so huge that it can seem impossible to move on. I believe that each loss we experience can stir up emotions and feelings related to past losses. I provide a safe environment for you to explore your feelings of grief and loss. By making links between the past and the present and deeply listening and interpreting the possible origins of your grief we can open up the space needed for you to move forward.

Learning to feel and manage the variety of feelings that come up around death, loss, and endings is an integral part of life. I will support and guide you through this process. It can be very healing and renewing to consciously and creatively meet one's grief and loss. I will help you to reflect on and release the past, to open simply and directly to the loss, and to find peace and grounding in your deeper connection to the truth.

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.

Have you recently lost a loved one? Or just went through a difficult break up? Whether it's a person or relationship, going through a loss hurts. You may be feeling angry, sad, confused, and want to numb the pain somehow. Counseling can help you sort through your emotions, and find more peace and acceptance as you go through this difficult time. You can start to make sense of the loss and return to feeling good and enjoying life. Give me a call to schedule an initial consultation.

The key to my approach in working with people who are grieving a loss is to recognize that, while grief and loss are universal experiences, the way each person grieves can be very different. It is important to honor that. The key benefit in working with me is that I will help you find a way through your grieving that works for you. There is no one correct way. Each person has their own unique way of coping with grief and loss. My job is to help you find ways to heal in your own way.

If you are suffering from grief or loss such as the end of a significant relationship or the death of a loved one, individual counseling can help you to move through the stages of grief, give you a safe place to talk about your feelings and help you to identify what you want for your future and move towards it with a sense of hope and anticipation.

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.

We know how to grieve, naturally, and there are times in every person's life that failing to grieve fully can cause significant emotional difficulties, which may seem unrelated. You can't completely grieve by yourself - you need someone to listen while you work out, and tell, the story of your loss. If we're isolated, or the people around us aren't able to listen, it's easy to get stuck in the sadness of the loss - or stuck running away from it, one way or another.

Losing a loved one changes you forever. While grief is a natural part of the life cycle, everyone can benefit from the emotional support psychotherapy provides. I can help you move through the grieving process so it does not turn into social isolation and depression. You don't have to go though this alone. I provide a safe place for you to sort through your sadness and loss. I can help you gather strength to move forward.

At some point, everyone experiences the grief and loss of something or someone valuable in life. The key is knowing how to grieve one's loss. Most people don't know how to grieve and our culture does not allow for it. Entering therapy after a loss of a job, relationship, or a loved one can help heal the wounds and help the individual move on with life.

Feel completely heard. Find out how and when to reach out for help. Honor the best parts of your relationship, acknowledge the hope, learn to process the loss in a way that doesn't consume you, but nurtures you and makes you stronger. Welcome the stages of grief in a supportive environment and accept your new normal, full of resilience and vitality.

"Why can't I seem to shake this grief & loss like other people can?" you ask yourself. Chances are you have other unresolved losses that are being triggered. When you come to me, I will do an assessment, identify the unresolved losses and use Lifespan Integration or EMDR to help you get relief. On average my clients see me 10-12 sessions and are able to function again.

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

Grief looks differently for different people. Grief needs its own time and can't be forced. Many contemporary cultures have forgotten their collective ways to face loss and to support grieving people through ritual and community. Therapy provides an ongoing compassionate relationship, a rock for you to return to again and again with your process. An ear that won't get tired of listening. Bringing presence to the grieving process allows healing and the rich rewards of a strong and open heart. You will feel joy and peacefulness again.

Although grief and loss are universal human experiences, there are many factors which can make it difficult to process. I offer a safe space to explore all that you are going through and feeling. Expressing all your complex feelings is healthy and can be so relieving. Repressed grief can make you physically or emotionally ill. Many losses are complicated with feelings of anger, guilt or the pain and confusion of unfinished business. Sometimes, when the loss is unexpected, shock can get in the way. Personal issues around ability or willingness to feel or show vulnerability can make it hard to grieve. I have many years of experience in offering safety and support to grieving clients.

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

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.

Losing a loved one or relationship can feel overwhelming. Where our days used to be enriched by someone, we are only left with their memory. The process of grieving requires support, patience, and resilience. If you find it difficult to concentrate, find pleasure in most activities, or get out of bed in the morning then therapy may be an important ally in learning to live again with loss.