Grief Therapists in Washington, DC

The DC area is home to so many people deeply connected to their pets and companion animals. But what happens when your pet is terminally ill, dies, or goes missing and is never found? What emotional support is available to help you manage these painful and intense feelings? I provide support for people going through this devastating and disorienting experience. Having gone through this experience myself multiple times, I understand how incredibly painful and difficult it is. I am here to help you to honor your pet, process your grief , develop new routines, and take steps towards healing.

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?

If you are in the midst of a daunting medical diagnosis or grieving a painful loss , I am glad you found my page. Perhaps you are caring for a loved one, and find yourself mentally and physically exhausted, or you're a healthcare professional and you're feeling overwhelmed. Or maybe you are about to embark on treatment for cancer and are struggling with a tangled ball of emotions. In my work with clients, I create a safe, compassionate space to unpack and explore these issues, and to be a companion on your journey toward healing, growth, and transformation. Whatever brought you here today: I am here to listen.

Do your emotions feel overwhelming? Are you bored and restless with your life? Does the future seem hopeless? Many of us experience these feelings, yet often think we're the only ones. We worry that if we show people what’s really going on, they will avoid and judge us. In therapy, we give voice to these feelings, and learn that while they can be scary at times, they also reveal a path to healing and change.

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.

As a therapist with training in grief , loss & trauma, I use an integrated approach - including mindfulness and yoga - to work with you to identify and focus on what you want to change. I focus on supporting adults and couples from all walks of life. We all have resilience and strength, but at times it can be hard to find, and current circumstances in our world make this harder than ever. I believe that we are formed by our experiences, but that we should not be beholden to them. Together we will focus on ways to help support you in making changes you desire, creating a safe and mindful place for that change to begin.

Not Accepting New Clients -- With over 10 years of experience working with at risk youth, substance users, trauma survivors, the LGBTQ community, families in conflict, those with interpersonal relationships struggles, work-life balance challenges, grief , depression, and anxiety. Most of the clients I work with seek relief from stress, confusion, feelings associated with grief / loss , low self-esteem, hopelessness, struggles related to change/adjustment, and feelings of stagnation.

We all carry wounds which affect our inner well-being, our relationships, and our ability to engage with the world. By facing our pain and suffering with compassion, we have the power to transform it into strength. Often, we cannot do this alone. Therapy is a journeying together to discover your own capacity for resilience and strength and healing into your deeper, truer self. I cultivate therapeutic relationships built on deep trust and incorporate mindfulness, narrative awareness, strengths-based insight building, and cognitive restructuring, focusing from a spiritual perspective on what gives meaning, purpose, and connection.

Sometimes, life imposes barriers or rifts on our path, leaving us lost or stuck, uncertain of how to move forward. I support those who arrive at this place by holding a container for deeper self exploration and encouraging one's remembrance of their innate abilities to heal and grow. Individuals connect with me for a trusted space to tend to wounds of developmental and ancestral trauma, sexual and domestic violence, and grief and loss . Others seek me out for support in cultivating an integrated awareness of themselves, their relationships, and their part in our world or to prepare for and process psychedelic journeys.

My clients consist of young to mid-career professionals (millennials) grappling with the changes and challenges that can come with life transitions to include completing college and/or graduate school, beginning one’s career, and managing shifts in responsibilities at work and at home, as well as the challenges that can arise in intimate relationships.

Life can be overwhelming and you are not alone in your struggles. Though reaching out for help can feel scary, making this choice is often transformative. You deserve support and to have hope in your life. Therapy with me is a process where this happens and I find it an honor to walk beside and gently guide you through whatever you may be experiencing. I believe in basing our therapeutic relationship on acceptance, genuineness, and empathy. I work with all types of people--children, adolescents, and adults--who are struggling with the external, internal, or both in a non-judgmental, strengths-based, trauma-informed manner.

My goal as a therapist is to help you find the best ways to navigate your needs in a safe space. I will help you to engage in and to incorporate self-care into your day to day life. Have you recently felt like your life was changed forever? Have you experienced a loss of a job or a loved one or are currently in crisis? Are you feeling lost or anxious?

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.

I am a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who treats adults and older adolescents seeking individual psychotherapy for a range of issues, including depression, anxiety, stress, trauma, life transitions, relationships, and loss . My approach is eclectic but is fundamentally psychodynamic.

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.

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.

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.

People come for psychotherapy when they are hurting or feeling stuck in unproductive thinking and behavior. This can manifest in depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, issues with career and work performance and self deprecating behaviors. Loss , grief and illnesses can be hard to bear and cause feelings of aloneness. What is often needed is a safe environment for the cultivation of acceptance and compassion and the willingness to wisely explore in a trusting relationship. Developing space to have a new understanding of difficulties can open to greater awareness, sense of possibility and the capacity to live more fully.

I identify as an ethicist; a Womanist who advocates and practices feminist ideals, cultural humility through continuous learning, bodily integrity, reproductive justice, sex work is work, pacifism by utilizing non-violent resistance techniques. I believe children have rights, whistleblowers are vital in society, I embrace LGBTQ+, Black Lives Matter is factual, and representation matters. I practice mindfulness with the philosophy of ‘margin to center’ action. I embody, advocate, and support activism in action and respect of human rights. Neither ever ends, even when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable. We must remain firmly resolved