Grief Counseling in San Luis Obispo

When a loved one dies, this can leave you feeling lost and alone. It may shatter your familiar world, challenge your beliefs, or shake up your sense of safety and security. Grief after loss can be more than just painful emotions. It can also be a shock to the body that can feel similar to an injury. Whether the loss is expected or unexpected, death leaves an imprint of absence that your mind struggles to understand and adapt to. The intensity you feel often parallels other experiences related to the loved one such as unfinished business, or the love you felt while they were alive. Your therapist offers Grief Counseling in San Luis Obispo, CA or by telehealth. 

Many individuals do not experience effective grief support. Those around you may be afraid to make contact with you in this pain. Others may be very uncomfortable with your loss. This is evident if they avoid talking about the deceased individual, or if they seem to gradually disappear from your life.  Perhaps you have been on the receiving end of unhelpful comments? Many grievers feel pressured to “get over the loss” and move forward quickly. It is not uncommon to feel like no one understands your pain or has had a loss quite like yours. Unfortunately, we live in a grief-illiterate culture and these experiences contribute to a sense of isolation.

Grief is not a pathology to be diagnosed. It is a normal experience that calls for empathy, skilled listening, and reflective support. There is no real timeline in grief, and you are not abnormal for grieving beyond a year. Everyone has a different grieving style and a different relationship to the deceased. There are many factors that impact how grief is experienced. Grief can also be complicated by other pre-existing mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, or trauma. Your therapist understands these nuances and can help you navigate through this. Deeper healing of more complicated issues can be addressed by incorporating a range therapy modalities that your therapist is trained in.  

No one should have to go through the shock of grief alone. Your therapist is a certified grief educator who will walk with in this journey.  Grief counseling is also very helpful for anticipatory grief which involves grieving in advance of the loss. If your loved one is suffering a severely declining condition, you may be beginning to realize the profound impact that an impending loss will have on you. The aim of therapy is to help you process the pain of the loss, and to pave the way for you to build healthy remembrance of your loved one going forward.