Grief and Loss Counseling in Hewlett Harbor, NY.

Grief is about loss and the threat of loss. The stronger the bond between us and the person we have lost, the more we will hurt both physically and emotionally. When we are torn from a family member or friend, a part of us dies as well. Our natural need for attachment gets severed, often bringing the return of childhood fears. The world feels like a more dangerous place. As a result, we may feel out of control. We ache to have the loved person back. We know in the rational part of our minds that the person is not coming back, but it also seems impossible to let him go. We will remain emotionally conflicted until we can release our loved ones. Because letting go is so difficult, we must do it slow....

Grief in and of itself is not a diagnosis. However, many people find themselves seeking out professional help following the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the loss of financial means. In grief and loss therapy you will benefit from a compassionate and warm environment where you can explore your grief with out judgement or fear. Grief is often isolating in our sessions not only will you be given the space to process and remember your loss, but also the tools and guidance necessary to eventually continue a fulfilling life.

Personal loss such as a loved one or due to trauma needs to be mourned in order to move on in one's life. This difficult process requires a 'witness' to the emotional loss. Psychoanalysis serves the function of enabling a person to speak about the loss. It enables an individual to remember in a way that enhances the individual survivor.

Loss in the face of betrayal is both unique and universal. If you've been betrayed by someone's sexual addiction, you may feel like life has up-ended. Although your story is unique, there are universal qualities to betrayal trauma. Rage, shock, fear, unsafety, and mistrust are some of the common feelings betrayed partners experience. You may feel dysregulated and find it difficult to function. This is a normal response to betrayal trauma. Together, we will work to help you learn about sexual addiction and why it is not your fault! I will help you grieve the safety you thought you had and we will work to help you restore a sense of safety in your life and nervous system.

Often clients reach out to a psychotherapist when there is a death or separation in a relationship. Chris provides Grief and Loss counseling and Psychotherapy where empathy and caring help clients get emotional closure to help them move forward. A sudden death and loss can causes a person to have increased anxiety and depression and limit functioning. Chris has worked with numerous clients to heal and move forward through effective counseling and psychotherapy in New York. Clients benefit from talking out their feelings where I help them get closure and provide the skills to move on and enjoy life again.

If you have lost someone close to you through death, relocation or the end of a relationship, and feel isolated and lonely, it takes time and support to gently move forward in life. If you are shy or feel anxiety in social situations it can be hard to reach out for help and create the supportive relationships you need. I can help you move forward, gain a new sense of self worth, and begin to create meaningful nurturing social connections.

If it is a past loss we will talk about that relationship and what it meant to you, and see how that person affected you in your current life and what he/she meant to you. If it is a current or impending loss, we can focus on day-to-day issues to lessen anxiety, and process how to handle what time is left. Practical issues may be discussed. if you find yourself obsessing we will probably focus on feeling, if you find yourself lost in feeling, we may focus on verbalizing your thoughts and your feelings. If you are overwhelmed by depression and find it difficult to function, I will make recommendations for medications and/or alternative strategies.

Grief is a deeply painful and often lonely and scary process to experience. Depending on the severity of your loss, it can impact every aspect of your life, like a giant ball in the box that is your life. Every time the ball hits the wall of the box it hurts. Over time, the ball gets smaller and doesn't impact every aspect of your life. However, when it does bounce against the wall it hurts just like it did in the beginning. With the right understanding of how grief it ebbs and flows over time and the space to allow it to be expressed, one can begin to heal.

Losing someone or something you love is profoundly painful. One of the greatest myths we hear is that “time heals all wounds.” In reality, time often deepens the ache unless we give ourselves permission to grieve. Healing requires space to mourn, honor what has been lost, and gently begin to carry it in a new way. It is my privilege to walk alongside clients as they move through grief toward healing, meaning, and peace.

When I very young I lost my fiancée. I went about life as if nothing had happened until it caught up to me. I was trying to open a door with a key and it wouldn't work. I found myself crying and felt out of control. This happened because I didn't want to grieve. What I learned is you can't skip this process. It will catch up to you at the strangest times. I can walk you through this without bottoming out. Ignoring it and avoiding it doesn't work

I teach my clients about the stages of grief. This often which helps to normalize what they are experiencing. It can be so overwhelming and isolating to lose someone you love. I give clients a safe place to explore all of their emotions around their loss. I work to help clients feeling grounded again and take the steps necessary to find a new normal.

The way that a person has learned to protect themself self from a traumatic event develops into a part of their character in adult life. Our clinicians are trained to help you understand all of your parts and show you that the scary experience is over. We help you truly feel that you got through it and you can protect yourself if you need to! With this approach, we invite the wise parts of you to care deeply for the parts of you who are hurting. You have the power to regain control over your life, move forward, and heal.

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.