Grief and Loss Therapy for Adults

Grief is the cost of loving anything that can be lost — people, relationships, health, identities, futures we expected to have. It is one of the most universal human experiences, and also one of the loneliest. People around you may want to help, but they often don't know how, and the cultural script for grief tends to give it a few weeks before the world expects you to be back to normal. Real grief rarely works on that timeline.

I provide treatment for grief and bereavement for adults across California through secure telehealth sessions. I work with people moving through recent losses and with those who are revisiting losses from years ago that never quite settled. The goal of grief therapy is not to get over the loss; it is to find a way to live alongside it.

Types of Loss I Work With

Grief takes many forms. The losses I most often help clients navigate include:

• Death of a partner, parent, sibling, child, or close friend
• Sudden, traumatic, or unexpected loss
• Anticipatory grief during a loved one's serious illness
• Divorce or the ending of a long-term relationship
• Estrangement from family members
• Loss of a pet (see pet loss grief therapy)
• Loss of health, mobility, or independence
• Job loss, career endings, or retirement
• Major life transitions that involve giving up an identity or life chapter

What Grief Can Feel Like

Grief is not a tidy process. It rarely moves through neat stages. More often it arrives in waves — sometimes overwhelming, sometimes quiet, sometimes triggered by an unexpected reminder. People in grief often describe physical exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, intrusive thoughts about the loss, guilt or regret, anger, numbness, or a sense that the world has lost its color. All of these are within the range of normal grief responses.

Grief becomes a clinical concern when it stays at full intensity over a long period and begins to take over daily functioning — what is sometimes called complicated grief or prolonged grief disorder. It also often coexists with depression and anxiety, in which case treatment may need to address both.

My Approach to Grief Therapy

The work begins with making room for the grief itself. For many people, that alone is a relief — somewhere they can talk about the person, the relationship, or the loss without managing other people's reactions. From there, we look at what feels stuck or unresolved: guilt, regret, anger, or things left unsaid. We work on integrating the loss into your ongoing life rather than walling it off, and on rebuilding routines and relationships in a way that honors what you've been through.

When grief is layered with depression, trauma, or anxiety, we address those layers as well. You can read more about my work with depression, as well as anxiety and trauma.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I see a therapist for grief?
Therapy can help when grief feels overwhelming, and is significantly interfering with work or relationships months after the loss, when it leads to depression or anxiety, or when the circumstances of the loss were traumatic. There is no minimum threshold of suffering required to seek support.

What is complicated grief?
Complicated grief, sometimes called prolonged grief disorder, refers to grief that remains intense and disabling well past the period when most people begin to integrate the loss. It often involves persistent yearning, difficulty accepting the loss, and trouble engaging with life.

Can therapy help with grief that isn't from a death?
Yes. Grief is the natural response to any meaningful loss, including divorce, the end of a long friendship, loss of health, job loss, estrangement, miscarriage, or major life transitions. These losses are sometimes underrecognized but can be just as painful as bereavement.