Grief and Loss Counseling in Taylor, TX.

Having been through grief and loss in life, I feel somewhat equipped to help others make sense of their own transition. I have worked with clients who have lost children and other loved ones. Just Mind, our company, works with the Flatwater Foundation which provides no cost to the client counseling for those affected by cancer. To qualify, one must contact Flatwater directly, Wonders and Worries, or Texas Oncology. Working in this area is personally rewarding to me since my father had cancer (he's better now) but it made me understand some of the different journey's people can take with cancer. Our therapists have over 20 years of experience in this area.

I will hold space, provide resources, and support clients through this difficult process. I believe there is no time limit on how long it takes someone to move through the grief and loss process. I will support and meet my clients where they are and help guide them towards healing in the process. Encouragement to re-engage with life will provided but not in a forceful and or dismissive manner.

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.

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.

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. .

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.

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.

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.

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.