Grief Counseling
Grief can change the way you experience the world. Whether you're grieving the loss of someone you love, a relationship, a season of life, or something you had hoped for, you may find yourself carrying emotions that feel difficult to understand or put into words. Therapy can provide a safe, compassionate space to process your loss, make room for your emotions, and find a way forward without leaving what you've lost behind.
Does this sound like you?
Maybe you're trying to move forward, but part of you feels stuck in the past. You may find yourself overwhelmed by sadness one moment and completely numb the next. Perhaps you're functioning on the outside while privately struggling to make sense of what has happened.
You might wonder why you're still grieving when everyone else seems to have moved on. Or maybe your grief comes in unexpected waves—triggered by a song, a familiar place, a holiday, or an ordinary moment you wish you could share with someone.
Grief doesn't follow a predictable timeline, and there isn't one "right" way to experience it. You don't have to rush through your grief or have everything figured out before seeking support.
Therapy can offer a place where you don't have to pretend you're okay and where you can process your loss at your own pace.
What Can Grief Look Like?
Intense sadness or crying
Numbness or feeling disconnected
Anger, frustration, or resentment
Guilt or regret
Loneliness or isolation
Difficulty concentrating
Changes in sleep or appetite
Loss of motivation
Anxiety about the future
Difficulty accepting what has happened
Feeling like you don't know who you are anymore
Questioning your faith or beliefs
Feeling okay one day and overwhelmed the next
You may also experience grief related to losses that others don't always recognize, including divorce, estrangement, infertility, a miscarriage, a significant relationship ending, a career change, or the loss of a dream or expected future.
Whatever your loss looks like, your grief deserves to be acknowledged.
How Therapy Can Help
Making Space for Your Grief
Therapy isn't about forgetting the person, relationship, dream, or part of your life you've lost. Instead, counseling can help you make space for your grief while learning how to move forward.
Processing What You’re Feeling
You don't have to organize or explain your emotions perfectly. Therapy provides a safe space to talk honestly about your sadness, anger, guilt, confusion, or anything else that may come up.
Learn to Navigate Difficult Moments
Certain dates, places, conversations, and memories can bring grief rushing back. Therapy can help you develop ways to cope with difficult moments while giving yourself permission to experience your emotions.
Make Sense of Your Loss
Loss can change the way you see yourself and your future. Together, we'll explore how your loss has affected your life and help you begin making sense of what comes next.
Find a Way Forward
Moving forward doesn't mean moving on or forgetting. Over time, therapy can help you begin rebuilding your life while continuing to honor what, and who, has mattered to you.
My Approach to Grief Counseling:
Learn more about my approach to therapy here
There isn't a formula for grief, and I don't believe therapy should try to force you through a predetermined series of stages. Instead, we'll work together to understand your unique experience and determine what support would be most helpful for you.
My approach may incorporate Person-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and other evidence-based therapeutic techniques depending on your needs.
Our work may include processing difficult emotions, exploring changes in your identity and relationships, developing healthy coping strategies, and finding ways to care for yourself while grieving.
Most importantly, you'll have space to grieve without judgment or pressure to "get over it."
Grief & Faith
For many people, grief raises spiritual questions alongside emotional ones.
You may find yourself wondering:
Why did God allow this to happen?
Where is God in my grief?
Why don't I feel close to God anymore?
Is it okay to be angry with God?
How can I have faith when I'm hurting this much?
There is room for these questions in therapy.
For clients who desire it, I offer Christian grief counseling that thoughtfully integrates faith into the therapeutic process. We can explore difficult questions, process spiritual struggles, and make space for both grief and hope.
Faith doesn't mean you have to pretend you're not hurting. Grieving deeply and having faith can coexist.
My hope is to provide a space where you can be honest about where you are while gradually learning to lean back into the love and comfort of Christ, even when life looks different than you expected.
Frequently Asked Questions
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There isn't a set timeline for grief. Everyone experiences loss differently, and grief can change over time rather than simply disappearing. You may have periods when you feel more like yourself followed by unexpected waves of sadness. Therapy can help you navigate these changes without feeling pressured to grieve according to someone else's timeline.
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Absolutely. Grief doesn't always follow a timeline, and there may be times when an old loss resurfaces or begins affecting you in new ways. Major life transitions, anniversaries, or other experiences can sometimes bring old grief back to the surface. Therapy can provide space to explore those feelings whenever you're ready.
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No. Therapy should move at a pace that feels appropriate for you. You don't have to share everything during your first session, and you don't need to know exactly what you want to talk about. We'll work together to create a space where you feel safe enough to begin where you are.
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Yes. I offer secure online therapy for adults throughout Iowa. Telehealth can provide a convenient way to receive grief counseling from a familiar, private environment without having to travel to an office.
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Yes. If faith is meaningful to you, we can thoughtfully incorporate Christian beliefs into your counseling experience. This may include exploring questions about God, prayer, Scripture, spiritual doubt, or finding hope in the midst of suffering. You don't have to have your faith figured out before coming to therapy.
Ready to take the first step?
You don’t have to do this alone.