Grief Therapists in Oakland, CA
See all therapists in OaklandNot accepting new clients

Akilah V. Vazquez
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Verified
Verified
I help adults, kids and adolescents reduce symptoms of trauma, depression,
grief
, and anxiety using Relational Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy interventions and Mindfulness practices.
There are things that happen in life that we try to overcome on our own but realize it has become too much to handle alone. You may be experiencing work related stress, conflict in your relationships, shame,
grief
, anxiety, depression, or a trauma. As a Therapist I want to support you heal those parts of yourself that hold you back. My goal is to support you in navigating, refining or developing skills to improve and enhance your life. I want to help you repair, restore and renew yourself, relationships, life or work. Psychotherapy can be a difficult process; It is important to feel comfortable and safe as you go on this journey.

Aden Neumeister
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified
7 Endorsed
Verified
7 Endorsed
If you are seeking therapy there may be some good reasons that I would be a good fit. You may have tried many different methods of healing but find that there are places that you have not yet been able to reach. These issues may complex
grief
, longstanding trauma or gender and sexuality. You may have tried psychedelics or other consciousness expanding methods and want help integrating your experiences, or are looking to try ketamine assisted psychotherapy to help with your healing. Through your voice and your inner and outer world, I work interactively and empathically with you to tend to the places most in need.

Ali Faris
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified
Verified
I worked as the Psychologist in Oncology for Kaiser Permanente for 4 years with a focus on helping patients with adjustment, relationships, and life and
death
issues.
(Evening and weekend appointments are available!) If you are looking for help to rediscover, remember, and grow into the person you wish to be and need support and help to get there, I would feel privileged to be on that journey with you. I focus on honoring your knowledge and experiences in the hope of creating an empowering environment where you benefit from the freedom to discover your strengths, resiliencies, and courage. I consider the many ways you have come to know and understand yourself and your relationships to others, taking into account your culture, history, and identity.

Yukari Kunisue
PhD, MA, EdM
I am a trained and experienced life coach who can work with individuals at various stages of transition such as career change, moving, separation, divorce, parenting, aging, and
death
and dying. I offer hypnotherapy in areas such as habit control, smoking cessation and stress management. I give sessions in Japanese and English. Available for Skype/Facetime sessions.
Waitlist for new clients

Mikaela A Wapman
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW, MA, CD DONA
Verified
Verified
In presencing both
grief
and possibility, it becomes clear where ease, growth, and rest might fill in for patterns of resistance and tension.
It is in our nature to change and grow. Our relationship to our bodies, sexuality, gender, friendships, environment, community, romantic partnerships, and ways of thinking is constantly evolving and transforming. This is the ebb and flow of our lives. In order to embody and dream the future we desire, we need to be in relationship with where we come from: presencing individual, inherited, and cultural practices that have contributed to the context we are in today. As your therapist, I offer unconditional presence, curiosity, and capacity to support exploration, embodiment, and learning to tune to the body's wisdom and experience.
Not accepting new clients

Nicole Arkin
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
I find it important to examine the societal context of individual suffering, particularly themes related to oppression and injustice, and tend to be the most well suited for working with sensitive and creative individuals as well as those who struggle with depression, anxiety, self esteem,
loss
/
grief
, pregnancy/postpartum and chronic/ terminal illness.
It isn't difficult to feel scared, vulnerable and not good enough in our complex world, let alone if you have a history of being abused or neglected. Therapy can help you slowly make sense of the past so that you can encounter the present moment with more awareness and vigor. I am psychotherapist with an abiding love of the arts and often work with sensitive and creative individuals, many of whom have histories of abuse/neglect and are struggling to make sense of their past and present lives in order to find a greater sense of freedom/comfort within their own skins.

Larry Tonberg Edwards
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified
Verified
Personal expertise in working with clients facing the challenges of chronic/terminal illness, partner
loss
, and the complications of
grief
and
mourning
.
Psychotherapy is an opportunity to develop a new compassionate understanding of yourself and your relationship to others. Whether you are looking for symptom relief or personal growth, the work of psychotherapy begins with establishing a trusting relationship with the therapist who will be your guide, ally, and occasionally your nemesis in exploration. I encourage my clients to become relentlessly curious about themselves by carefully looking at their past and present relationships and the patterns of their emotional and psychological lives.
Not accepting new clients

Karen Sprinkel, Individual & Family Trauma Therapy
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT, SEP
Verified
3 Endorsed
Verified
3 Endorsed
Trama,
grief
and
loss
, and spiritual/existential angst are my specialities.
Do you have a trauma, a significant
loss
, a relationship or a childhood memory, that seems to invade every part of your day, and you just can not seem to get past it? We all experience life events that change us, and therapy can help the healing process so you incorporate your pain into your life in a positive way. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Brainspotting & Somatic Experiencing (SE) are very effective tools to help process areas in your life or in your body you are feeling stuck. You can regenerate your self, and experience life in a new way.

Dave Rutschman
Counselor, MA, LPCC
Verified
2 Endorsed
Verified
2 Endorsed
Finding the right therapist can be hard. Maybe you're facing difficult experiences of
grief
and
loss
, serious illness, or family conflict. Maybe you're wrestling with depression or anxiety. Or maybe you just have a general sense that your life has lost meaning and direction. Whatever brings you in, I'll offer a warm-hearted and positive space for us to learn together about your particular situation, and about the possibilities for healing and transformation that can be found within it. Having someone to talk to makes a real difference.

Martha Bulger
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW
Verified
Verified
I am also an Advanced
Grief
Recovery Specialist, certified by the
Grief
Recovery Method Institute®.
Are you at a place in your life that no longer feels comfortable and you're unsure of how you've have gotten there? It's impacting your personal and/or work relationships and your self-image. I provide a safe, non-judgmental space allowing you to gain insight into your journey thus far and give yourself permission to change. I will help you move to a place of self-forgiveness, self-acceptance, and self-love.

Alexandra Poling
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW
Verified
Verified
Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), along with skills from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and mindfulness, I help my clients identify and change ways of thinking and coping that may be impacting their mental health. This approach includes teaching coping skills that will target specific symptoms and triggers as well as learning to cope with or resolve intense emotional pain. I use this approach to treat complicated
grief
, trauma, panic, and related anxiety or depression.

Lucia Grauman
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, MSSW, LCSW
Verified
Verified
Awarded Oakland Magazine's "Best Therapist" 2018 & 2020, my specialties include: relationship issues (such as conflict resolution, dating, pre-marital counseling, divorce, blended families, infidelity);
grief
&
loss
; addiction, recovery & codependence; anxiety & depression. My approach is both warm and direct-- my clients experience me as accepting and empathic, while also feeling challenged the right amount to grow and change. I am an integrative therapist, meaning I integrate more than one way/theory/model to view and treat psychological and/or relational concerns. See my website for education, experience and credentials.

Megan Gredesky
Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT, RDT
Verified
Verified
My
grief
speciality supports you in coping with any
loss
you’ve endured.
I stay up to date on the most cutting edge therapies to achieve RAPID and long lasting effects. As a Certified Brainspotting Therapist, I focus on neuroscience - YOUR brain can HEAL from trauma,
grief
, and anxiety. Release the shame and inner critic that is no longer serving you. I help empaths and highly sensitive people who are struggling with overwhelm. Performers and artists have benefited from Expansion Brainspotting to overcome creative blocks! Rediscover your flow state to create again! I’m trained in play therapy and drama therapy and work well with children and adolescents. Email me to be directed to online scheduling!

Jean Milam
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
I work with adults and older adults, experiencing anxiety, depression,
grief
, and transitions.
I provide a safe, warm, non-judgmental space where every part of you is welcome, the parts you know and like and those parts that you may keep hidden. Asking for help is not easy. You may have been taught that you should be able to handle difficulty by yourself, but, in fact, seeking support is the most courageous step you can take toward your own healing and emotional well-being. You don't have to experience sadness, anxiety, trauma, anger, or
loss
on your own.

Kate Finney
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Verified
Verified
Perhaps you are struggling with your partner right now, having the same fight over and over again. Or longing for an intimate relationship and feeling frustrated in your search. Maybe you are struggling to find a greater sense of direction in life. I have extensive experience working with relationship issues, life transitions, depression, anxiety, and
grief
. My approach to therapy is to help people gain access to their truth and authenticity. Through a collaborative and active therapeutic relationship, I endeavor to help clients identify what they want in life and the barriers that may be standing in their way.

Nathan Greene
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified
2 Endorsed
Verified
2 Endorsed
I am a bilingual (English and Spanish-speaking) licensed clinical psychologist who provides psychotherapy services to adults, children, adolescents families. I support clients in fostering resilience and in building more meaningful, connected relationships. In therapy, I take a supportive, curious, nonjudgemental stance. My clients struggle with issues related to depression, anxiety,
loss
, adoption, psychological trauma, childhood development, parenting, and everyday stressors.

Milena Edwards
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified
Verified
Something is shifting in your life. The earth beneath you is not as stable as it once was. Maybe it's a major life transition, like going to college, getting married, moving to the Bay Area, or changing jobs. Maybe it's a
loss
, like a
death
, a divorce, a miscarriage, or leaving someone or something in your life. Or maybe this transition is harder to put your finger on...you might be feeling stuck and needing something to shift. There are many moments in life that offer an opportunity to transform, or require us to change if we are to continue growing.
Not accepting new clients

Emily Chandler
Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT
Verified
10 Endorsed
Verified
10 Endorsed
My specialties are relationship issues,
grief
,
loss
, and anxiety issues.
I work with people going through big changes who need support. Perhaps your relationship ended, you lost a loved one recently, or you feel very stuck in work or your relationship pattern.
Not accepting new clients

Walker Wellness Therapy & Consulting
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, MSW, LCSW
Verified
3 Endorsed
Verified
3 Endorsed
A guiding theme for my work is meeting individuals where they are in life in order to understand the dynamics of their current situation or circumstance. Many of the people that I work with have been involved in the child welfare and or court systems, have experienced tragedy, trauma and experiencing
grief
, anxiety, or struggling with life stressors. I strive to support clients as they develop creative solutions and tools to improve their quality of life. I use a strengths-based and solution focused approach in working with clients, to identify their strengths, who they are and strategies they can use to be their best self.

Demitra Barnes
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Verified
Verified
My specialities include:
grief
and
loss
, depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship issues, life transitions, and spirituality.
Are you struggling with depression and anxiety? Is there constant conflict in your relationships? Are you searching for balance, direction, or purpose? Are you feeling overwhelmed and frustrated? Are you using substances to cope or numb your pain? You no longer have to suffer in silence or allow fear to stand in your way. You don’t have to feel stuck and unsupported, I’m here to help. I will support you in navigating life's most difficult challenges. My style is very compassionate and collaborative, I'll meet you where you are in life and walk alongside you on your journey to healing and personal growth.
See more therapy options for Oakland
Grief Therapists
How long does therapy take for grief?
There is no exact timeline for grief counseling. Some people may start to feel better after just a few sessions, while others may take months or longer to feel relief. Some specific approaches, including some types of CBT, may involve a set number of sessions, or therapy may be open-ended until the patient determines they are ready to wrap up. Just as there is no right or wrong way to grieve, there is no right or wrong way to seek therapy for grief.
When should you seek therapy for grief?
Many people mistakenly believe that their grief needs to be debilitating or all-encompassing to warrant therapy. This is not the case. While people who experience severe, prolonged grief—particularly those who are considering self-harm or engaging in unhealthy substance use—are especially likely to benefit from therapy, so too are people whose grief is less intense but still interfering with well-being or daily functioning. In practice, almost anyone struggling to process a loss could benefit from grief counseling.
Can grief be managed without therapy?
Oftentimes, yes. Grief is a near-universal part of being human, and many find that their grief, while profound, does not stop them from participating in day-to-day life and steadily eases over time without outside help. For others, however, the harsh pain of early grief persists for months or years or leaves them unable to function. This group is especially likely to benefit from seeing a therapist, who can guide them through their grief and help them reconnect with the world.
What happens if grief is left untreated?
Because grief does not in itself necessitate therapy, untreated grief will often resolve on its own. However, for some people—particularly those who would qualify for a diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder—untreated grief can be a source of seemingly endless pain or lead them to withdraw from the world. In such cases, treatment can be indispensable, as it can help an individual adapt to the loss and start living again.