Grief and Loss Counseling in Palatka, FL.

Obviously, everyone deals with grief and loss in a different manner. The greatest gift we can give anyone going through the grieving process, is to offer them a safe atmosphere, nonjudgmental, in which they are able to tell their story. This process can involve talking, journaling, therapeutic letter writing, and an encouragement to openly express all feelings, no matter how difficult they may be.

As an experienced Christian Counselor and ordained pastor, I’ve supported many men through the grief process. If you’re grieving, I will provide a supportive space for you to process your emotions. Because grief is a normal part of being human, I can’t take it away or rush you through it. However, I can help you identify barriers to grief, and help you prevent the grief process from becoming stuck. I know grief professionally. But I also know grief personally. Losing one of my best friends and my beloved grandparents was hard enough, but facing the untimely death of my father was, and is, a uniquely painful experience. If given the chance, I would be honored to help you process your grief.

Every day we catalogue any number of unique losses; being overlooked for a job promotion, relational cutoff with a family member, infidelity of spouse, separation or divorce, death of a loved one. These experiences can launch us into the grief cycle. It can be incredibly helpful to spend some processing any of these with someone. Grief can feel like a spin cycle of emotions of anger, fear, sadness and even an experience of feeling numb. Every person grieves in their own way. Our time together would be dedicated to (1) appropriately value and honor what was lost, (2) validate those feelings and (3) explore what it looks like to move forward.

A lot of people run from grief work - I don't. I understand the pain of loss and I will help you through the darkness. Grief is a very profound and personal experience. The pain of loss never goes away completely - that person will always be an important part of your life and experience. I am happy to help you walk through that pain so that you are not alone in your grief.

We help our client to heal and process grief and loss through holding safe space for them to work through difficult emotions and experiences in a supportive environment. Everyone grieves differently, but it can be very beneficial to receive support from loved ones and therapists as you cope with grief and loss. Collaborative therapy, Emotionally-Focused therapy, grief psychoeducation, and techniques such as EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy) can be especially helpful.

I emphasize the need to increase the reality of loss, to help the client deal with and overcome various barriers to changes created by the loss, and help the client feel comfortable engaging in any new relationships. I help to identify and resolve conflicts of the loss which may prevent the healthy processing of grief stages. Grief and loss is part of life for everyone, healthy grief is necessary to overall well being.

Grief is hard. Grief is natural. Animals grieve. Grief is something we feel deep in our bodies and can be disorienting and destabilizing. Grief brings up questions about who we are, the world, the existence or goodness of God, and purpose and futility of life. Dealing with grief, especially when the loss is traumatic and unexpected, requires a slow and tender space to allow the grief to move through our body and to settle in our hearts with warmth and memory. I am here to help you grieve the loss of your loved one, experience, health , future or even your beloved pet. .

Grief and traumatic events are all times in your life when you need someone to listen, interpret, reflect and help you navigate life's difficult passages. Additionally, as a Pastoral Clinically Trained Counselor, I can support your existential, faith, and spiritually related needs. I believe deeply in each person's innate resilience and ability to grow through life losses, transitions, and crises. My overall mission as your grief counselor is to serve as your grief companion and to depathologize and normalize your own grief experiences. My priority is to offer you compassionate, nonjudgmental listening, which moves you toward healing.

Grief hurts. People feel like they have been stolen from. Sometimes it’s grief over the loss of something we had. Sometimes it’s sadness about what we never had. If we minimize and deny our emotions, we no longer have them, they have us. Holding it in makes it feel worse and can make us sick. Grief heals when its emotions are expressed. I provide a safe environment where you can do that. It’s a place where you can take off the courageous face that you wear for others, be yourself and voice feelings you may usually hide from others. I can provide you with emotional support and the tools you can use to come to acceptance.

Grief and loss can be so difficult to manage and come out of nowhere. When we work together, we will gently learn the about the grief journey you are experiencing. As we learn your life experiences, we may find that some of the distress is rooted in early childhood trauma and attachment wounding. We will welcome all parts of yourself and learn about the challenging messages you may have grown up with that manifested into the distress you feel today. Disordered eating can be a messenger, an alarm telling you that it is time to heal experiences from earlier in life. I am trained in using EMDR, Emotion Focused Therapy and Expressive Arts to help you become your best self.

After a personal loss, nothing looks the same. Food loses its flavor, music seems hallow, and nothing satisfies. One person going through grief wrote: "How could things go on when the world had come to an end? How could I go on in this void?" Grief is a universal problem and if not worked through properly can result in crippling, negative consequences in our lives such as depression. There is hope and healing available through Grace-oriented, Biblical counseling.

The loss of a loved one or close friend can be devasting to a individual.Showing compassion and helping someone cope with a loss, takes listening and divine direction. You never get over the loss,but you can learn how to get through the loss and function with professional guidance.We offer that guidance knowing that Christ is the Comforter.Grief and loss can be overcome through professional guidance.