Grief and Loss Counseling in Auburn, GA.

The grief you experience following the loss of anyone close to you may cause the worst pain and highest stress of any life event. While each individual will experience grief in their own way, most are affected physically, emotionally and spiritually. Anxiety, guilt, anger, sadness and even shock are frequently experienced and often overwhelming emotions associated with grief. Grief counseling provides encouragement, comfort and support during one of life’s most difficult transitions. My approach will encourage you to progress at your own pace and in your own unique way. Grief counseling enables clients to accept their loss, resume normal functioning and move forward in peace.

I have advanced training and experience in helping people deal with traumatic loss and grief including loss through suicide, accident or needing to put a pet to sleep. My approach helps you reduce disturbing images and bad dreams related to the loss, reduce feelings of guilt, reduce a sense of hopelessness about your future, and reconnect to happy images and memories of the person or pet you lost. I have also helped people with job loss and relationship endings. I also incorporate a six step model for accommodating loss and EMDR Therapy to help reduce the pain of the grief process.

Walking through grief recovery can be a life long journey, we focus on the healing and positive memories to help bring peace. Grief can come from losing someone suddenly, long term illness, suicide loss, pregnancy loss and others. Whatever the loss, you are not alone. This is a safe space to help you heal. Take your time, be patient with yourself and understand that you are not alone. Reach out for support duering you processing and healing journey.

Grey Matters International and the work of Kevin J. Fleming, Ph.D approaches issues of grief & loss through the lens of innovation----instead of growing the same neural networks responsible for the pain in weekly therapy sessions, we reset the brain to move forward quicker and efficiently by working on the stuck limbic system so as to empower the person with more success and traction. For no one wants to stay in a grief mode for too long; but when you don’t include the brain in your work with someone, you risk describing the water to them while they drown and calling it success. Contact Grey Matters International, Inc now at kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.

There are many different kinds of losses: loss of a loved one through death, loss of a loved one for some other reason, loss of a spouse due to divorce or separation, loss of a job, loss of a home, loss of financial resources, loss of health, loss of a pet, etc. The loss of hopes and dreams can be devastating. When these feelings of grief are put aside without being addressed, then the unresolved grief can affect you in unexpected ways. However, by allowing yourself to grieve and to work through these losses with a caring counselor, then you can come to a place of healing and hope again.

Working through the stages of grief: Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Sadness, and Acceptance can be very helpful. Being able to share your emotions with another person throughout the process can be very healing. Using EMDR ( eye movement, desensitization,reprocessing) technique for the traumatic parts of your grief can also be very beneficial. I am here to help you through that process.

I utilize an active model of grieving that helps the client have a map, so to speak, to be able to recognize where they are in the process of working through the loss. For example, the first step is to get through the denial and shock of what has happened to where one can accept its reality. Secondly, it's important to tell one's story in order to address a person's desire to regain what was lost. Third, is to address the despair and effects to one's life by coming to terms with what has happened, making meaning, identifying specific goals for therapy along with a treatment plan. Then finally, moving forward, withdrawing the energy once given to the trauma and redirecting it to find meaning.

Grief is a process and the length of grief will vary. Grief needs to be respected to be addressed and we live in a society that wants people to "get over it" quickly. People also want to get out of pain as quickly as possible. Grieving and mourning needs to be faced and supported. When people get stuck in issues such as anger or even guilt, they often need assistance with addressing these issues. Therapy is beneficial with these issues. Depending on how the person died, there may be some trauma accompanying grief as well. At times addressing the trauma may be necessary.

Grief and loss is unfortunately something that we must all go through. It is very painful to lose a loved one. However, as difficult as it is, grief can help us grow as people. Getting through the grief process well means that you can gain a deeper understanding about life and find more empathy toward others. My approach toward working with grief and loss is gentle and compassionate. I seek to help you work through the sadness and pain and get back to living again and finding new meaning in your life.