Grief Therapists in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC

What does therapy in the time of Covid-19 mean? These days when our life has been turned upside down, our general sense of anxiety may have increased. What will happen in the future? Will my family be ok? Will I have a job? At the same time, this public health crisis is intersecting very uniquely with our own personal life. Maybe you’re a college senior who didn’t get to graduate. Maybe you’ve recently had a loss and now feel more lonely than ever. Maybe now past trauma is coming to the fore. Maybe all of this just feels overwhelming. I can help. I bring a goal oriented, holistic approach to help you bring more calm to your life.

Compassionate therapy has the power to help people reflect, grow, and change. Using a warm and engaging approach, I collaborate with clients to develop treatment strategies that work based on research-based techniques. I specialize in working with clients struggling with relationship issues, OCD, grief and loss , and difficult life transitions, including changes in roles or identity.

Feeling overwhelmed, anxious, hopeless, or trapped by a past trauma? Curious about what it could mean for you to begin to feel more grounded and centered, less stuck? Therapy is a space to explore, name and learn from one's feelings and can be a tremendous gateway to healing and change. I aim to support clients in finding and believing in their strengths, listening to their emotions, creating healthy flexible boundaries and developing coping strategies. I specialize in grief and loss ; trauma - including: abuse, neglect, PTSD; anxiety and depression. Together we co-create a space for self-awareness and self-compassion.

I am a clinical social worker, practicing since 1993, and have accumulated a breadth of professional experience working with children, adolescents, and adults through various stages of life. My approach is warm, engaging, collaborative and positive, with an initial goal of developing a trusting and supportive connection. Together, we will then create a treatment strategy that is tailored to you. Regardless of the approach, I strive to create a safe space that invites honesty, insight, creativity and even humor. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of therapy, I welcome the opportunity to offer my assistance.

I specialize in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a mindfulness-based behavior therapy that focuses on helping clients live fulfilling and meaningful lives even with the struggles of everyday life. I offer a collaborative approach that helps to guide clients toward their goals through fostering insight and acceptance while also reducing avoidance behaviors. I believe that every person has a natural internal strength that I seek to foster through empowerment. My ultimate goal is to help clients drop the struggle and live a valued life so they can manage the inevitable ups and downs of the human experience on their own.

Does it feel like you are surrounded by darkness? Perhaps you've experienced the death of someone close to you. Or perhaps you're facing a life-threatening illness, or anxiety is keeping you stuck in an unsatisfying lifestyle. My goal is to help you find peace and purpose in every possible life transition and challenge. I want to work with you to uncover any negative patterns that may be getting in the way of your best life. Together, we will develop and implement a plan that will allow you to achieve your goals. A rich, full, satisfying life is possible. We can get there together.

Unexpected challenges, loss , or the simple momentum of life can sometimes make it hard to feel solid or know how to respond. Inner distress or outward behaviors can make it difficult to feel good about oneself or get along with others. At these times, one can benefit greatly from the support of a trained therapist to explore experiences, feelings, and concerns. I create a confidential supportive space where clients have the opportunity to draw upon their inner strengths and capacity to grow, discover new perspectives, tools, and options for behavior, and develop as individuals to improve their quality of life.

I help adults navigate the challenging experience of coping with grief . Loss is often highly distressing and there is not a duration of time that grieving should take. However, we sometimes feel stuck in our grief or desire support. Grief is a natural response to loss ; thus, the goal of our work together is not to "cure" your grief , but to help you find ways to adjust to and integrate it into your life story. I also work with clients who are experiencing relationship and family-of-origin concerns, as well as individuals who wish to become more self-compassionate, develop healthier boundaries, and live more authentically.

Gabby Douglas said it best "Hard days are the best because that's when champions are made." Are you struggling with managing daily stressors? Have you gone through a traumatic event and are ready to take back your power? Are you noticing a disconnect between you and your child? Therapy provides a place for you to work on your healing process. It's a powerful and rewarding journey. Remember, your life is your canvas, and you are the masterpiece. If you are ready for this next step, I would be honored to be a part of your journey.

You can’t imagine feeling okay again now that your loved one is gone. How can the world move on when your own world has stopped? The decisions you’ve made in your life since they died have been about survival and not desires. Truthfully, you aren't even sure what you want anymore. You yearn to feel like yourself again, but you also feel guilty that it could mean letting go of your loved one somehow. You see your peers moving on in their life and you fear that you are falling more and more behind. You worry that what you need most you could only get from the person who is no longer with you. Is this the life you're resigned to?

Therapy is a choice that may allow for insight, personal awareness and change. Therapy allows you to increase self-awareness so that you can be accountable for you thoughts, feelings, and actions and learn to avoid triggering situations, unhelpful patterns of behavior and overcome challenges you are facing. I firmly believe in a person's potential for growth by integrating aspects of their past into the present in an effort to heal. As you learn to externalize parts of your self, it is my hope that you become more comfortable with vulnerability and present in your daily life.

Life can present you with difficult situations which are hard to process and move past. These challenges are not on your timeline and affect everything. Having worked in many healthcare settings, I am familiar navigating life-changing events and grief . I understand the territory of encountering loss , coping with trauma, the complexity of the medical system and living with illness. Together we will face any changes, fears, anxiety and emotions you are experiencing, allowing you to gain more grounding and peace. I will work with you from an integrative, holistic approach to determine together what is needed for your coping, healing and self-care.

Our connections with ourselves, others, and our communities can bring tremendous joy, meaning, and fulfillment. In contrast, experiences of disconnection can elicit profound anguish. A crucial step toward relief and enduring growth in psychotherapy starts with an affirming connection with your therapist. Beyond the reasons that bring you in, I am committed to listening to your life story and learning about you as a whole, imperfect person who deserves unconditional care and respect. From there, we can identify opportunities to relate to yourself and others in new ways.

I believe in the resiliency of people. Whether you face a relational issue, loss of a loved one, trauma, or ongoing mental health concern, I can work with you to create positive change and move you through a healing process by identifying your existing coping skills and building on your strengths and community. I have a collaborative approach-and expect that we will work together to create change. I like to work with adults as well as children and families as I believe that variety makes me a better therapist. When working with children, I work closely with the family.

Art therapy is instrumental in helping those who have a hard time expressing verbally what is going on. It can hep those who find their feelings or thoughts confusing or overwhelming. You do not have to be an "artist" to be in art therapy or be skilled in art making. Art making brings about in a safe way difficult stories or events, unspoken feelings, inner reflections, and identity exploration. Art therapy can help If you are suffering from PTSD symptoms such as nightmares and flashbacks. My goal is to help clients connect to themselves, find joy, and manage difficult emotions better. I can also provide therapy in spanish.

People seek psychotherapy feeling unhappy or helpless to bring about change in their life or fulfill their dreams. Patients are overcome with symptoms of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse or other problems, which in reality are unconscious defenses, blocking repressed feelings about something that went wrong, often in childhood, which is not yet resolved. These defenses once were adaptive, by protecting and helping them survive, but are no longer effective. I help people work through their underlying grief and face their feelings (sadness, anger, disappointment, yearning, powerlessness) surrounding trauma or loss , enabling them to engage in more free, authentic, satisfying lives.

Dr. Huntington has extensive experience helping adolescents, adults, and families improve functioning by increasing communication skills, sharpening boundaries, and building stronger relationships. Clients with anxiety, depression, grief , substance use problems, and general issues with adjustment have all benefited from his motivational, collaborative approach. Frank discussions help clients clarify values, examine emotion, and focus on the present in ways that are consistent with mindfulness-based cognitive behavior therapy. Clients soon spend less time struggling as they grow more accepting of themselves.New skills make them more optimistic and more eager to take on new challenges.

I have been working with young to mid career professionals since 2012. Since then, I have become a therapist that Gen X, Y, and Z clients seek out to address various types of life challenges. I enjoy providing support and encouragement to people who are facing life stage transitions and change with all of the stress, anxiety, as well as excitement that these events may bring. My training is in family therapy and I work within the frameworks of family systems, attachment, as well as grief / loss and living with loss .