Grief Counseling
Does Life After Loss Feel Like Living In A Foreign Land?
Are you grieving the death of someone close to you? Is the knowledge that they’re gone too much to bear? Do you find yourself asking “Now what?” and wondering how you can possibly go on without them?
Life without your loved one might feel like living in a foreign land. It’s as if the world you knew is gone—every little thing feels scary and unfamiliar now. Perhaps you find yourself crying out of nowhere and suffering from unpredictable mood changes. You may feel numb, sad, angry, and hopeless—sometimes all in one day. Maybe you ask yourself: Will this go on forever? Am I ever going to feel differently?
Grief Can Make You Feel Guilty And Wish You Had Done More For Your Loved One
When you’re grieving, it’s normal to find yourself bargaining with the past, thinking: If only I could go back in time to be with my loved one again. If only I could’ve told them how much they meant to me. If only I had done more for them when they were alive. As a result, you might feel guilty and full of regret.
The good news is that you don’t have to work through these emotions alone. Grief counseling is a chance to find the compassionate support you so desperately need. Between my experience as a funeral director, community chaplain, and grief therapist, I believe that I can help you move forward in life while honoring and cherishing the memory of your loved one.
Everyone Grieves Differently And It’s Normal To Grieve For A Long Time
Grief is messy. It’s not a linear process and it doesn’t follow any rules. For some people the first month of grieving is the hardest; for others, it takes years for their loved one’s death to really sink in. After all, people who’ve experienced a loss usually receive the most support and attention right after their loved one passes. Once everyone has stopped sending flowers and calling to check in on them, they are often left to grieve on their own.
What’s more, many people may be uncomfortable with someone who’s been grieving for a long time. Our society tends to have a “get-over-it” mentality when it comes to grief, as if mourning is socially unacceptable after a lot of time has passed.
Sometimes, however, even the people who are supportive of grievers don’t exactly know how to help. They may resist bringing up someone’s loss for fear of triggering painful emotions. Because the griever’s pain is never acknowledged, they often end up feeling invisible and alone.
This is why it’s important to have someone in your corner who understands how grief works. Whether you’re mourning the loss of a spouse, friend, family member, or even a pet, I am confident that grief counseling can provide the comfort and understanding you’ve been missing.
Grief Counseling Can Help You Find New Meaning In Life After Loss
Sometimes I hear clients who are grieving say things like “I’m sad that my loved one died, but it was a blessing because they were sick” or “I’m just happy they’re no longer suffering.” This is the head talking, not the heart. Grief counseling is a chance to let the heart talk instead. It’s an opportunity to acknowledge your pain and feel all your feelings—no matter how messy they are.
After all, I believe we can only heal that which we feel. That’s why I want to help you develop healthy practices for feeling your grief. Rather than teaching you to move on from your loss, I want to help you integrate your loss into its proper place in your life. The goal is to build a new life going forward while holding the memory of your loved one dear.
What To Expect In Grief Therapy Sessions
I will help you explore your feelings by offering a safe space filled with validation, reflective listening, and open-ended questions. Together, you and I will use a strengths-based, solution-focused approach to develop strategies for coping with grief and integrating your loss into the future you want for yourself. I can also assist you in processing any issues triggered by your loss, such as past trauma or previous experiences with grief and loss.
Most importantly, I want to help you find emotional and spiritual ways to honor the person you lost. Together, we will come up with rituals for connecting with them and remembering the significance they had in your life. These practices can help you harmonize the memory of your loved one with your life going forward.
My Work As A Funeral Director And Community Chaplain Has Influenced My Approach
I’ve been a Funeral Director for over 25 years and have helped thousands of people work through their grief. I’ve also served as community chaplain for the Seattle Police Department for over a decade, providing emergency counseling for people faced with tragic loss. These experiences have given me the real-life wisdom to be a compassionate and effective grief counselor.
In counseling with you, I will bear witness to your pain and hold a space for you to freely express your emotions. I want to help you release any burdens of guilt, become free of old wounds, and find new meaning in life after loss.
You May Have Some Concerns About Grief Counseling…
Therapy won’t help because it can’t bring my loved one back.
Although I cannot change the fact that your loved one is gone, I can help you manage the inevitable journey of healing from your loss. The right approach to counseling can make it easier to manage the ups and downs of grief and cope with the finality of your loss. Besides, counseling is not about changing the past. It’s about creating a future with deeper meaning and purpose, a future that has room for the memory of your loved one and room for your own personal growth.
I’m worried that my loss is too painful to talk about.
Grief is unimaginably painful. That’s why I want to go at whatever pace is right for you. There is no need to rush the grieving process or share all your feelings right away. It’s okay to take your time. As we work together, I am confident that the atmosphere of empathy I provide will make your grief less painful to process. Empathy is a balm that can soothe rough edges of grief, allowing us to explore your deeper feelings together.
I’m hesitant to move forward because I don’t want to forget my loved one.
I’m not here to make you put the past behind you—I’m here to help you integrate it into your vision for the future. In grief therapy, we can map out a vision that honors the memory of your loved one so that you never forget them. The idea is not to blindly move forward, but to harmonize the past and future.
You Don’t Have To Grieve Alone
You have been through more than words can say and you deserve to have someone walk with you in this difficult time. If you want to connect with me, you can fill out the contact form or call me to set up a free phone or zoom consultation.
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