Grief and Loss Counseling in Matamoras, PA.

What does it look like to be paralyzed from grief? When you've lost someone near and dear to you, it's quite difficult to ever be the same. Our goal is not to ever be the same again, but to move to a place of honoring the person who has moved on. When you experience the excruciating void of the person who's moved on, it seems almost impossible to move on yourself. However, our work together will help you find what helps you to honor that person you love, and come back to your life and community stronger than before.

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.

To help a client cope through grief and loss, I sometimes use the example of how an oyster forms a pearl. The oyster ingests a grain of sand that causes pain, and which cannot be removed or dissolved (just like we cannot eliminate the pain of missing a loved one). So the oyster begins to encase the grain of sand with layers of calcium-like substance, that makes the grain of sand easier to carry and hold, without the rough edges. Coping through grief and loss can involve learning how to unpack, experience, and adjust how we carry the pain. Therapy can help you soften and encase the pain of loss, forming a "pearl" around it that is easier to carry with you, and perhaps make it more precious.

Suffering with grief and loss is often a lonely place. Others may try to comfort you, offering sympathy which is well-intended but often doesn’t help you heal. Talking to an experience therapist can help you move through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The stages are normal, and although the process may be painful, reaching acceptance is the stage where you realize that although you may miss the person, your life is still worth living and can be productive and happy.

While grieving is normal when we have lost someone or something we loved and valued, it is nevertheless, painful and difficult. Grieving can even be more difficult when the relationship was conflicted and unhappy. Loss may be of a loved person or it can be of your health, independence, home, job, or beloved pet. Everyone grieves differently, and others in your life may not understand your way, or perhaps you are alone or feel alone. I can help you through the intensity of initial loss, work towards a balance of memories and taking your life forward, and do it your way. There is no right way to grieve and no set time limits. I will care about what is right for you.

Relationship endings are a guaranteed part of life that everyone experiences. When a relationship concludes – whether through death, divorce or some other reason – it is common to review it, examine it and even wish that something about it was different. Perhaps we regret something we said or longed to hear something from the other person. Endings are accompanied by conclusions to our hopes and dreams for the future. My approach to working with grieving clients is to permit them fully feel their loss and to process their grief in their own way and at their own pace. When it comes to grieving clients I will join with them in their loss and will encouraging them to feel all the feelings that surface about the person and the relationship they shared.

Loss can come in so many different forms, yet the pain is there and is strong. When we hold someone or something dear to our heart and then they suddenly gone, we are often left with a hole in our heart and need to grieve that loss. Grief looks different for each person. There are 5 main stages of grief that most people will go through in an order: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. These are hard stages to walk through alone. Reach out and call one of our compassionate therapists at Mars and Venus Counseling Center who can help you to talk through each of the emotions that you experience at each stage.

Grief and loss are certainly very difficult to deal with, but sooner or later, it comes to all of us. I meet my clients right where they are in the process of their grieving, and sit with them in that space. I help people to walk through the feelings and stay with them through the process. I create a safe space where clients can be with all the emotions they are experiencing. I am very patient as individuals walk through their grief at their own pace.

In addition to a clinical degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, I also have a degree in Pastoral Counseling. The emphasis there is helping people with the pain of grief and loss which can occur in many forms and may have a devastating effect on the way we live. I have extended experience in working with individuals and families as they move through the grieving process.

Losing a loved one is one the most difficult things we can face in life. Our aim is to help you find creative ways to reach a more peaceful place, to increase a sense of closure. We can help you with important aspects of grief. This may include the identification and resolution of guilt, a common emotional response that occurs following a loss. The grief process varies largely in terms of recovery time — that’s why we find it important that no time limits are set.