Grief and Loss Counseling in Bloomingdale, NJ.

Losing a loved one can be extremely difficult. It's normal to feel pain after an important loss, but counseling can make it much easier. I help people properly process and understand what the loss means to them. I support them emotionally in light of the lost connection they have experienced, and help them explore how they might support themselves and blaze a path forward. Time helps heal wounds, but counseling helps you heal faster and end up stronger for the experience. At times, people experience complex grief that lasts for more than six months. This is preventable and treatable.

Relationship endings are a guaranteed part of life that everyone experiences. When a relationship concludes – whether through death, divorce or some other reason – it is common to review it, examine it and even wish that something about it was different. Perhaps we regret something we said or longed to hear something from the other person. Endings are accompanied by conclusions to our hopes and dreams for the future. My approach to working with grieving clients is to permit them fully feel their loss and to process their grief in their own way and at their own pace. When it comes to grieving clients I will join with them in their loss and will encouraging them to feel all the feelings that surface about the person and the relationship they shared.

Grief and bereavement are the natural emotional responses to any kind of loss. It involves experiencing intense feelings, many of them unexpectedly and overwhelmingly. Loss is a personal journey; while grieving can often foster compassion and connection among family and friends, it is also common for the griever to experience difficulties identifying and sharing feelings or experience inter-personal conflict. Even, guilt, anxiety and anger may rise in addition to sadness and sorrow during grief. Bereavement counseling can provide a safe space to explore the struggles inherent to loss, with the support and understanding of a professional.

Loss is an unavoidable part of life, and is often followed by grief. The process of experiencing, enduring, and resolving grief can be a very lonely and painful one, but manageable and even enriching. The ultimate goal is to accept the loss and reaffirm your life, moving on to more fulfillment than you may imagine possible. Working through this p[rocess with a knowledgable professional is usually very helpful.

How do you navigate the unimaginable? Children often look to adults, but what if the adults are grieving too? Adolescents may want to “stay strong” for their parents and siblings, but that does not leave room for their own grief. Talk-therapy will provide your teen with the emotional support and space they need. They will learn about the grief process (it is different for everyone, and there is no “right way” to do it) and healthy coping skills. In our work together, they will label their strong feelings of loss and communicate their needs safely. Your teen will have ownership over the entire process. We will go at their own pace. I am here to listen and support them every step of the way.

If it is a past loss we will talk about that relationship and what it meant to you, and see how that person affected you in your current life and what he/she meant to you. If it is a current or impending loss, we can focus on day-to-day issues to lessen anxiety, and process how to handle what time is left. Practical issues may be discussed. if you find yourself obsessing we will probably focus on feeling, if you find yourself lost in feeling, we may focus on verbalizing your thoughts and your feelings. If you are overwhelmed by depression and find it difficult to function, I will make recommendations for medications and/or alternative strategies.

What does it look like to be paralyzed from grief? When you've lost someone near and dear to you, it's quite difficult to ever be the same. Our goal is not to ever be the same again, but to move to a place of honoring the person who has moved on. When you experience the excruciating void of the person who's moved on, it seems almost impossible to move on yourself. However, our work together will help you find what helps you to honor that person you love, and come back to your life and community stronger than before.

I am a grief therapist who can support you for everything from the death of a loved one to the loss of your job, an important relationship, maybe even your physical health. My clients are also processing grief over things like racial injustice, community violence, trauma they have witnessed or experienced. I will walk with you through whatever healing journey you are on, drawing on supportive counseling, rituals of goodbye, and stages of grief as they may apply to you.

The pain you experience after losing a loved one is an intense human experience that could make you feel abandoned, hopeless, and incapable of moving forward in life. In addition, sometimes there is grief connected to losing something: a job, an opportunity, a past that will not come back, a country you left behind. I can offer an empathic ear and listening to you as you ponder important questions at this point in your life: What does your grief say? What are the fears that accompany your grief and loss? Is there a way to move forward in life knowing that the present and future will be different because someone or something won't be there with you?

While grieving is normal when we have lost someone or something we loved and valued, it is nevertheless, painful and difficult. Grieving can even be more difficult when the relationship was conflicted and unhappy. Loss may be of a loved person or it can be of your health, independence, home, job, or beloved pet. Everyone grieves differently, and others in your life may not understand your way, or perhaps you are alone or feel alone. I can help you through the intensity of initial loss, work towards a balance of memories and taking your life forward, and do it your way. There is no right way to grieve and no set time limits. I will care about what is right for you.

The loss of an important person, can be a terrible shock. I help you with moving through the process of grieving, including issues of survivor guilt, anxiety and depression that may arise after a loss, whether it be loss of a person, job, or pet. When grief feels overwhelming, I can provide the support needed to find meaning in the past, and hope for the future.

Loss can come in so many different forms, yet the pain is there and is strong. When we hold someone or something dear to our heart and then they suddenly gone, we are often left with a hole in our heart and need to grieve that loss. Grief looks different for each person. There are 5 main stages of grief that most people will go through in an order: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. These are hard stages to walk through alone. Reach out and call one of our compassionate therapists at Mars and Venus Counseling Center who can help you to talk through each of the emotions that you experience at each stage.

Grief counseling helps people cope with grief and mourning following the loss of a loved one or due to major life changes that trigger feelings of grief (i.e. job loss or divorce). It provides a space for individuals to work through and process the complex emotions surrounding loss. Healthy grieving results in remembering the loss with a newfound sense of peace, rather than searing pain.