137 N. Oak Park Ave, Suite 329, Oak Park, IL, 60301 call 708-381-0634 or email
Grief Counseling
Has Grief Made Life Feel Empty And Meaningless?
Are you mourning the loss of a loved one or the end of a relationship?
Do you feel overwhelmed by the crushing reality that you can’t escape your loss?
Does it feel impossible to move forward in life?
Nothing is harder than grief. You might feel depressed, angry, lethargic, and deeply sad. When you lose a loved one, you may feel like you don’t know who you are anymore. The other person was such a huge part of your life that without them, your very identity is thrown into question. You might question your religious beliefs and find yourself in an existential crisis.
If you’re grieving the end of a relationship, you might wonder how you’ll ever find love again or how you’ll ever be able to trust anyone else. And if you’re mourning the end of a job or a career, perhaps you feel like your life lacks meaning or purpose without your work.
No matter what kind of loss you suffered, I would be honored to walk with you during this difficult time. You may not be able to erase the past or bring your loved one back, but with the right support, you can find meaning in the face of your grief and learn to integrate the experience into your life. Counseling is not about “getting over” your grief, but making space for how it will shape your life going forward.
Our Society Doesn’t Leave Much Room For Grief
Although grief is a universal human experience, Western culture is not very good about making space for grievers. We as a society do not have a long attention span when it comes to loss. Funerals take place quickly, there are no long observed grief periods, and most workplaces don’t have extensive bereavement leave.
This is why the hardest part of the grieving process is not the immediate aftermath, but the weeks, months, and even years afterwards. In the beginning, losing a loved one often means lots of phone calls, free meals, and around-the-clock support. But once enough time has passed, most people go back to their routine—leaving grievers to work through their sadness alone. This is why it’s so important to get professional help in the months and years following a loss.
Grief Isn’t Just Hard—It’s Often Complicated
Loss is always tragic, but some losses are more complex than others. For instance, miscarriages are usually not acknowledged in the same way as most deaths. And if you had a complicated relationship with the person you lost, you might feel angry and regretful about how things played out.
Grief counseling can help you work through these nuances. It’s a chance to process your joys, regrets, deepest wishes, and every other aspect of the bereavement process.
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Grief Counseling Is A Chance To Feel All Your Feelings And Find Meaning In The Face Of Loss
Let’s face it: in the outside world, lots of people may be uncomfortable with you grieving long after your loss. In grief therapy, there is no need to hold your emotions back. I encourage you to feel all your feelings and let yourself grieve freely. After all, you have to feel in order to heal. My job as your therapist is to validate your sadness and anger, help you process your grief, and empower you to carve a new path in the wake of your loss.
What To Expect In Sessions
Grief counseling with me is often a mix of addressing immediate concerns—such as managing depressive episodes and making it through the day—and doing the deeper work of integrating your loss into your life. I want to help you shape your life in a way that allows you to carry the magnitude of your loss.
My approach to grief counseling is built around the belief that there is no “getting over” a significant loss. After all, your loss will never leave you. Healing is about learning to carry that loss and shaping your life differently so that you can absorb it. The goal is to integrate the loss so that it isn’t as overwhelming and find meaning and purpose in the midst of your grief.
Tailoring Your Grief Counseling Plan
Everyone grieves differently. My work respects that. What’s more, different kinds of losses require different approaches. If you’re dealing with the loss of a job, career, or relationship, grief counseling tends to be a bit more future-focused. There is usually less permanence to these types of losses, so you and I will spend a lot of time exploring new possibilities and avenues for growth. In addition to helping you process your grief, we’ll look at how you might adjust to a new relationship or new line of work.
Grieving is unimaginably hard, but with the right help and support, I am confident that you can learn to carry your loss and navigate a path forward. Letting yourself feel the sadness, anger, and all the other emotions of grief can help you find a new posture and way of being in the world.
You May Have Some Questions And Concerns About Grief Therapy…
I feel like I should be over my loss by now.
What you’re feeling is normal. Grief is something that you never really “get over.” The impact of losing a loved one is deep and profound and it is very normal to grieve for a long time. Counseling is about helping you live in a new way and reconstructing your identity in the wake of your loss.
Counseling can’t bring my loved one back, so what’s the point?
The fact that you have to live without your loved one is incredibly unfair and unjust. Grief therapy can’t fix that for you. But what therapy can do is help you understand that you’re not alone. It’s a chance to process your feelings and have someone walk alongside you as you do. After all, we are social creatures—we heal in pairs, not by ourselves.
I have no motivation to do anything now that my loved one is gone.
Losing a loved one is a shock to your body system. In the early stages of grief, it’s normal to feel like you can’t go on without your loved one and that there’s no point in doing anything. The idea of going back to ordinary life probably feels impossible. Therapy can help you realize that with help, you may not always feel this way. Hope is hard to hold onto when you’ve lost someone, but therapy is a place to find the path back to hope.
Let Me Help You Carry Your Loss
If you’re mourning the loss of a loved one or a relationship and you want to see a grief counselor, I would be honored to walk alongside you. To connect with me, you can use the contact form or call 708-381-0634.