SPECIALTY AREA OF PRACTICE
Grief and Loss
Many of us simply want to rid ourselves of the pain of loss, and our culture supports this idea through explicit and implicit messages that encourage us to "move on" or to "let go." We suffer with our natural experience of grief, feeling stuck and having difficulty caring for ourselves while meeting the demands of work and family.
While grief is a normal aspect of human relationships and life itself, many of us no longer have the social supports to help us navigate and carry our grief, so we lose the rituals and care that help us attend to our emotions and healthy remembrance. The loss of dreams and communities may be related to the death of a loved one, or they may reflect a change in our health, ability or spiritual community.
Some areas in my practice related to grief and loss:
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Loss of dreams and fulfillment
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Loss of faith community
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Death of loved one following terminal illness/caregiving
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Death of parent, mentor or guide
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Unresolved grief arising at a new life stage
We must be mindful not to pathologize normal human experiences to painful loss. However, there are times when intense sorrow and persistent yearning, accompanied by emotional distress and disruptions to our identity, complicate the experience of grief. In these cases, it is helpful to explore whether the experience you may be having is related to or exacerbated by anxiety, traumatic or chronic stress.