Grief and Loss Counseling in Elgin, TX.

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.

I am trained as a Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (PGDT) provider by the Center for Complicated Grief at Columbia University. The structured protocol addresses "stuck grief" that is marked by an attachment fissure that causes rumination, excessive guilt, loss of former interests and hopelessness 6 months and longer (sometimes many years) after a significant loss. PGDT is evidence-based and has a over a 70 percent efficacy rate for movement into adaptive grief.

In Grief & Loss Therapy, I'll give you a safe and accepting place to work with the complex emotions that come with loss. Together, we'll work on creating coping mechanisms for handling your loss, avoiding problems, and recognizing the legitimacy of your feelings. Our sessions will also emphasize on your communication abilities so that you may better explain your needs and feelings to others who are supporting you. Also, I want to help you regain meaning and purpose in your life after experiencing loss by providing you with new views and insights. I believe that by going through this, we can find a way to assist you to get past your grief and accept the possibility of a fulfilling future.

How do you cope with the loss of a loved one? How do you move forward when it feels like a big part of yourself is missing? Grieving is one of the most gut-wrenching experiences, and it needs to be seen and understood in order to heal. You need a space to cry, to vent, to let out the emotions tangled up inside you without worrying about being a downer. A space where you can be complicated, and go slowly, and figure out your "new normal." There's no better place to start than therapy. In our sessions you'll not only get a chance to heal, but to grow, and make sense of the past while finding hope for the future.

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. .

The best way I can describe the grief experience is that everything feels surreal and our brain feels like it's under water. Sometimes we can't make a complete thought. Often we feel disconnected from others. Other times our pain is so intense we feel that if it doesn't ease up, we might die from it. Our "normal" is disrupted and between the time we pass from our old normal to a new normal we travel through intense emotions. We can experience grief because someone we loved died. But we also experience grief from other losses, such a divorce, lost jobs, news of sickness or chronic illness, friendships, moving to new cities. Simply put, change, even small ones can create a grief response.

The grief process is often difficult and confusing. There are 80,000 books, blogs, and techniques out there to help you grieve "correctly." Sometimes, the "correct" way only leads to frustration and increased grief when it doesn't work for you. I believe each person needs to learn how to grieve in their own way. I work with you to help you understand what your process will be and how it can be most effective for you.

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.

Clients will find solace in a compassionate space where their life experiences are validated, honored, and understood. As someone who has also experienced profound loss and grief, my clients can trust that I am not only knowledgeable through my professional training but also know what it feels like to be in a similar place that they may be in. My therapeutic techniques empower clients to embrace their emotions, foster resilience, and facilitate the integration of loss into their lives, ultimately leading to profound personal growth and renewed hope for the future. I help clients navigate the complexities of loss, unraveling tangled emotions, and finding meaning amidst sorrow.

Grief and Loss can be debilitating and seemingly impossible. It takes time to heal, and there is an appropriate way to heal. Involving an experienced counselor can make a difference in your future success in mental health At Connected Life Counseling, we are here for you. We are here to listen and to provide you with mental health goals and tools to ensure long-term mental health success.

Loss often leaves us drowning in an unknown ocean and can be stormy seas to navigate on your own. A new way of living is required in the absence of familiar surroundings and patterns. Whether losing a job or a spouse, either through death, divorce or some unexpected circumstance, missing what once was, even if it is by our choice, is a natural response. Yet, the process of letting go is hard. Life Practice offers calm harbor in transitional times of tempest. Help with changing to the new can be what keeps us afloat from the undertow of despair . We'd be honored to provide guidance, anchorage and safe haven as you find your sails for a new life.