Grief and Loss
“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.”
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
A major loss can make the world feel as if it has turned upside down. Whether you have experienced the death of a loved one, a beloved pet, or the loss of a relationship, these experiences are profound and they change us. It is natural and necessary to allow ourselves a period of time in which we pull away from the outside world, and experience the waves of grief as they ride over and through. It takes time and deep inward attention before we are able to reorient and find a new rhythm after the loss, and yet, even as life feels some semblance of normalcy, you will be changed. What you have gone through is something meaningful and life altering.
Often, during grief, there are well-intentioned but unhelpful, even damaging, messages pushing you to ‘move on’ faster than you are ready. This is sometimes by external pressures, such as family obligations or work expectations, and sometimes these pressures come from within. Grief itself is complicated and sometimes varied, even contradictory, feelings arise.
This is a time that requires tremendous support and space for the full range of experience, and gentle acceptance of yourself and anything you need. Therapy can be a helpful and supportive place to express and move through, not around, all of the complicated feelings that occur during this tender time. I understand that grief is a unique, personal, and dynamic experience, not simply stages or tasks to move through. Whether you are grieving a loss that happened last week or many years ago, we will make time and space to allow you to move-on by moving-through, to come back to yourself.
The first step is a free, 15-minute phone or in-person consultation to discuss your interest in therapy, to ask me any questions you might have about the process, and to determine if we would be a good fit.