Grief & Loss Therapy: Moving Beyond Survival
Acknowledging the Unwanted Journey
If you are reading this, I want to welcome you to the most difficult journey imaginable—the one you were never meant to take. Whether someone you love has died, you had a breakup, or lost your job, grief is defined by being in a place where you don’t want to be.
It can feel like you are on a bus and the driver stops in the middle of nowhere and tells you that you need to get off. You tell the driver I don't know where I am. I don’t want to get off the bus because I’m looking forward to the place I’m going. The driver tells you the plans have changed, and there isn’t another option.
You are now faced with the challenge of finding your way home.
I can help you get there.
My Commitment to Your Healing
My approach to finding your way back home is informed by both my professional clinical background and a deeply personal understanding of loss. On May 23, 2022, I lost my son to a fentanyl overdose. This experience fuels my core belief: Healing is possible when you find a way to keep living while honoring the love you hold.
As a Grief Educator trained by David Kessler (the global expert who pioneered the "Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief: Finding Meaning"), I provide specialized guidance designed to help you move toward long-term peace.
When to Seek Professional Support
You may recognize yourself in these thoughts:
"I’ll never be whole again, so what’s the point in trying?"
"I don’t want to feel good—I don’t want to feel anything."
"My life will never be truly good again."
"I am broken, and I don’t even want to fix it."
While these are normal reactions to intense loss, professional support becomes essential when you experience:
Significant Functional Decline: Persistent difficulty with work, hygiene, or relationships.
Maladaptive Coping: Increased reliance on substances or addictive behaviors to numb the pain.
Chronic Avoidance: Restricted interactions in daily life to avoid reminders of your loss.
Research shows that 70–80% of participants experience significant improvement in emotional well-being after engaging in specialized grief counseling.
A Specialized Therapeutic Approach
My model is built on compassion and evidence-based techniques centered around two primary objectives:
1. Navigating the "Grief Tiger"
Grief can be described as a beloved tiger—powerful, beautiful, and at times threatening.
We will not try to eliminate this part of you; instead, we learn to navigate its presence.
Releasing Guilt: It is normal to believe that we have more control over our loved one’s path than we actually do. Part of the healing process is to acknowledge what was truly beyond our control.
Feeling the Feelings: There are no shortcuts. The only way out is through, which means to sharing the pain with someone. We begin to understand that true joy will always know deep sorrow. If you don’t process the grief, it can shut down the joy.
Building Connection: We find safe avenues for expression through individual sessions and community resources.
2. Finding Meaning (The Sixth Stage)
The goal is to facilitate movement toward the most profound phase of healing: transforming your loved one’s memory from a source of pain into a legacy of purpose.
Honoring Through Action: Identifying ways to carry forward their values and passions.
Integrating Presence: Creating healthy rituals to keep your loved one part of your present life.
Transcending Loss: Using the wisdom gained from this experience to foster deeper compassion and clarity for your future.
What You Can Expect
A Safe, Confidential Space: A professional environment free of judgment.
Tailored, Collaborative Care: A plan that respects your unique timeline and nature of loss.
Compassionate Expertise: Guidance from someone who understands both the clinical and lived experience of profound devastation.
Take the First Step
Grief is a heavy journey, but you do not have to walk it alone.
Please call 303-717-7821 or contact me to schedule a brief, confidential consultation to see how we can begin this work together.
