“Nothing will ever be the same, and you don’t know what to do with that.”

What is grief and complicated loss?

Sometimes we grieve relationships that changed, futures that never happened, versions of ourselves we had to leave behind, or people we love who are still here. Complicated loss can leave you feeling stuck between moving forward and wishing things could have been different. Therapy can give you space to make sense of what you’ve lost, honor what mattered, and find a way to carry the grief and decide what comes next.

Maybe you relate:

• Someone you love is gone, and you are heartbroken. 

• Someone significant in your life left the world in a complicated, sudden, or traumatic way, and it feels like no one understands how hard it is to process this. 

• You are grieving something you can’t name–a childhood, who you were before a traumatic experience, the life you had planned before you got sick, the ever-changing circumstances of a world that is increasingly more difficult to navigate. 

• You had a complicated relationship with someone who died, and now that they’re gone, you’re not sure how you feel.

• Someone you love has died in a stigmatized way and it feels hard to speak out loud about. 

• You received word that an abuser has died or been institutionalized, and you need to process what that means for you. 

• You are grieving someone who is still here, but not a part of your life anymore. 

• You are preparing for the loss of a loved one. 

• Someone important to you has died from a disease, and you are trying to put the pieces of your life back together without them. 

• You are grieving a time in your life, or a relationship. 

• You had to say goodbye to a pet, and you had no idea how much you would miss them. 

• You feel complicated emotions at the thought of your grief. 

• You need closure about something that has caused pain in your life.

What we do in session:

We call the feelings, whatever they might be, into the room. Grief shows up in myriad ways and while we know that is what we are feeling on a bodily level, it is often hard to name. So that is what we do. We make room for everything you feel, explore the nooks and crannies of all of it, and air it out in the sunlight. I will invite you to tell me what you need to say out loud about or to this person, thing or circumstance that has left your life. We will explore what closure and ritual can look like. Sometimes we aim to honor someone, and other times we aim to close a chapter of your life. I will not judge how you feel or felt about who or what you have had to grieve. We deconstruct stigmas, provide you with emotional and bodily resources, and learn to move through life knowing that grief is rooted in connection.

What feeling better can look like:

You can look back at old memories and smile. You can acknowledge that some days are harder than others. You can engage in the activities you used to do together again. You can accept the circumstances of loss. You can express your emotions toward the deceased openly, and honestly. You stop losing sleep over the 'what if?’s. You create closure. You stop dreading holidays or family reunions. The room doesn’t feel so heavy. You find meaning when it is there to be found. You adjust to a new normal.