Grief or Loss

Following my own journey to parenthood, my passion is helping women and men with the hardships that can arise when building a family. I have more than 15 years of experience, specializing in helping clients coping with miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and postpartum issues. I completed the 10-month Fertility Counseling Postgraduate Course with Sharon Covington, MSW and Dr. Linda Applegarth, EdD and am certified in perinatal mental health (PMH-C) by Postpartum Support International.

We all experience loss in our lives whether it is the loss of an influential person, job or experience. We even experience loss and grief with \'good\' things happen, we move, have the birth or adoption of a child, get a new job, etc. We often need help and compassion to sort through the various feelings and process the steps to help us move into places of acceptance of our new situations. Comprehensive grief work can help us get through and around change with compassion for ourselves.

Each person's experience of loss is unique. There is no "right" way to grieve, however it can feel overwhelming and isolating to navigate this journey. My hope is to support you in creating a safe space to experience your grief in a healing way, and to support you in whatever healing looks like for you. It often feels like we are told to move past, or get over our loss. The real work is perhaps to find a way to transform our lives to hold space for our loss in a sustainable way.

Grief is complex. It takes many shapes and can be profoundly visceral. Grief also needs music, water, and art. Grief is not something you can talk yourself out of. The love is too big for that. Loss can be overwhelming and isolating. The whole world can feel different, even though everything looks the same. Together, we'll honor the grief in expressions that are natural and supportive for you. We can lean into the love that lives with the pain.

Grief is heavy. "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition & of unspeakable love." I support people learning to live with the absence of a loved one as they build a new life. Grief may be the heaviest human emotion. Healing is not about finding "closure," rather movement forward, living life that includes a lost loved one.

Grief and loss are unavoidable experiences in life, but knowing that cognitively doesn't always make it any easier. I believe in creating a safe space for individuals and couples to explore and process their emotions surrounding the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, or any significant aspect of their life. I believe we are inherently resilient creatures who feel deeply; experiencing grief and loss with my clients is something I feel honored to be able to provide.

No one sets out to start a family thinking they will experience infertility or be thrust into the grieving process. But for many, this is their experience as they yearn to start a family. Depression, anxiety and increased levels of stress are commonly known to be associated with each. Many feel isolated and alone in their experiences and do not feel their closest friends or family are able to relate or offer solace.

No one is immune from experiencing grief and loss. Often love is at the center of our grief experience, and, because life is complicated, it usually has many other feelings tied into it as well. Whether you are experiencing the loss of a loved one, a hope for the future, or another form of grief, I would be honored to support you in your healing.

Grief is a natural response to loss. Whether it’s a close friend, spouse, partner, parent, child, or other relative, few things are as painful as losing someone you love. After such a significant loss, life may never seem quite the same again. But in time, you can ease your sorrow, start to look to the future, and eventually come to terms with your loss.

Grief can occur at many times in your life. Death of a loved one, grief of a loved one being diagnosed terminal, relationship break-up or divorce, loss of a job, empty nesting, and other similar difficult changes. Do you feel lost? Not sure how to move on? I am a Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist, CAGCS. Let me help you with your loss.

There is no singular way to handle grief, and the stages are not all consecutive. For some, the feelings are acute and for others complex, in all aspects grief is a journey that I encourage my clients to be patient and authentic with themselves in. Art can help us make meaning of our loss, and guide us to a place of healing.

I have extensive experience working with grief and loss of various types and take a trauma-informed, body-centered holistic approach in the treatment of grief. My experience includes working with complicated grief, disenfranchised grief, and sudden or ambiguous loss or death.

Grief and loss are a natural part of the human experience, and I can support you on your journey with grief and loss. I believe we can learn to live with loss and be transformed by it. I have worked with individuals who have grieved the loss of a relationship, friend, or spouse. I also work with individuals who have physical limitations, loss of career, loss of self-identity and are both grieving and adjusting to their new circumstances.

I have worked in health care and educational settings. My graduate thesis was on the topic of forgiveness and my early work was in hospice. I work with individuals in private sessions and when able offer groups for grief and loss. I utilize psychoeducation and healing processes, often working with people in their first year of the grief and loss process.

The grief process is disorienting, non linear and, often, lonely. But it's also profoundly natural. The work of grief is holding space for all the emotions and memories to show up as they need to, and to do so with enough internal safety to not become lost. Grief is exhausting and profoundly meaningful work.

Grief is not a step by step process. Life is full of grief; huge and big and little losses.

During my career, I have given a lot of professional support to clients who have been faced with complicated and uncomplicated grief reactions. I am particularly interested in assisting with spousal loss or grief tied to the pandemic. Clients are invited to go on a journey through grief at their own pace. I will never give clients the message that working through grief has to be done in a certain timeframe. As many have experienced firsthand, grief does not have an expiration date.

The world changes when we lose someone or something. It could be the loss of a parent, child, job or friendship. The bottom line is-loss hurts and grief is a part of that pain. I will encourage you to share your story, process the emotions that arise from your experience and empower you with skills and attributes necessary to heal into your new normal.

My path of specialites began with my first hospice experience in my mid-20s and caring for my godmother. Since that time, I have solely focused my learning and experience in gerontology, death and dying and bereavement. As a hospice and palliative care medical social worker, I have worked with anticipatory loss and grief, complicated grief which might include multiple losses, challenges of mental illness, lack of support, and life transitions to name a few.

Grief and loss are normal aspects of experience that too often are complicated by a lack of support or resources, unrealistic expectations about the grieving process, and social pressures to quickly "resolve" one's grief. While it can be valuable to draw upon what has been helpful for others, each person's path with grief is unique. Working with grieve typically involves finding ways to preserve aspects of the meaning and bond of the relationship while processing through the painful emotions.