Grief and Loss Counseling in Gulfport, FL.

Losing a spouse, partner, parent, friend, or child can be one of the most devastating events in ones lifetime. I will not rush you through this process or expect you to be "normal" in one or two sessions. We can work to develop a "new normal" together. I offer compassion, understanding, and a safe space while you are trying to make sense of this incomprehensible change in your life.

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.

So often it feels as if many people in your life are signaling to you in some way that you should "hurry up and get over it," whatever your loss may be. The truth is that grieving is a process unique to each of us. I would like to provide you the time and space you need to explore the losses you have endured -- in your time and in your own unique way.

I have a BA in Religious Studies and use this knowledge to enhance healing and recovery from loss. Using a Christian approach with deep relaxation and guided spiritual visualization you can find reason and meaning in living your life fully again. You will have the added benefit of a brain health assessment to target how your brain is responding to grief. Then we target our holistic approach to treatment,. Moving through the pain of loss takes time but you can find meaning and purpose in moving forward. Whether your loss was expected or unexpected these specialized approaches can assist you through your pain to living a full life again.

Grief and loss is always difficult and people often don't know where to turn to. When working with clients with these issues, I make sure I listen empathetically. Often times what needed most is a listening ear. I make suggestions to help clients through the grieving process which is usually some gradual behavioral steps to get back into the flow of life. We sometimes will have a ceremony to honor the loss, and I encourage clients to turn to whatever their spiritual beliefs might be for support.

Grief and loss are frequently a root cause of substance abuse, addiction and disorders. The grief process tends to deplete a person's resources, taking up a great deal of their physical, mental, and emotional energy. The absence is not the only thing they are mourning. Their plans, dreams and wishes have changed, and they are being required to let go of the future they anticipated. The phases of mourning include a desire to reverse the loss, feelings of pain and chaos, and the reordering of one's life. At Valiant Recovery, clients receive personalized grief counseling tailored to their needs, as well as specialized sessions on grief and loss.

Loss is inescapable in life. Grief is the natural response to the loss we experience. Quite often our losses occur “too early” or are “too severe” or are “too many” at once to process healthily. Loss that seems impossible to “get over” along with more loss close behind can become a deep spiral downward. This feels overwhelming & reactions can begin to have a life of their own. My therapeutic care, coupled with my own personal understanding through loss, I assist clients in safe & timely ways to face these sometimes debilitating experiences. Using trauma reduction therapies (EMDR and RRT) clients are helped to gain breathing room and a healthy perspective usually within 1 to 3 sessions.

Grief and loss can be painful, challenging and overwhelming. Often for the first time we are open to conflicting emotions and may be unprepared to cope with this change in our life. Counseling can help facilitate a healthy passage through the grief process. We can more easily move gradually and naturally from being stuck in the cycle of grief to learning to integrate and embrace the loss in to our life. By gently allowing acceptance to emerge, we can allow ourselves to be comforted by our memories, feel less trapped, and continue to live and grow healthier day by day. Realize you are not alone on this journey through grief.

Grief is a long journey of recovery, and there are often plateaus along the way. It can be a time of terrible loneliness, anger, confusion, and fear. I spent several years as a volunteer grief counselor, and this experience, plus a number of specialized trainings, can be put to use to help you travel the journey of grief to a life that respects the one you love and resonates with your values and purpose. Grief counseling doesn't mean "getting over" a loss; it means learning to change the relationship with your loved one and find meaning in the new "now." Love continues.

When grief and loss have gone on much longer than is typical, it often indicates there is some unacknowledged idea or feeling that has been preventing the person from grieving fully and they thus feel stuck. Though hard to bear, grief and loss are a natural and necessary part of life. Given a space in which to share one's pains and doubts, a client can go through his or her emotions and begin the healing process. This often results in greater understanding and a sense of relief.

Profile For: Dr. John Knight,PhD,LMHC Serving as a Grief Counselor with an emphasis on a gentle and empathic approach to care. With service and post doctoral training in Clinical Pastoral Counseling. Licensed Mental Health Counselor since 1996. With former service as a Non Denominational Pastor 14 years. PhD in Family, Marital and Domestic Relations Counseling. PhD in General Psychology.

My approach to grief is to get through it, one must embrace it. Grief is not an event that at a particular time it will be just stop. Grief is like an ocean with waves of despair to utter calmness depending where their pendulum of grief is swinging. Clients will learn coping skills to deal with the symptoms the person is experiencing in their loss. The client will learn that although going thru the grief is slower and usually more painful, when he/she get to the other side, their grief does not have to haunt them in their future.

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.