This service is for anyone who is struggling with the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship, the death of a dream, declining health, job loss, relocation, or estrangement. Grief is a natural process of life, but that does not make it any less painful. For some it becomes ever-present, dominating, and debilitating. Our Western society has not especially prepared us to handle sorrow, and too often we find ourselves drowning in it instead of journeying through it.

Your emotions may seem like they are always coming to the surface and your walls are paper thin. Or you may be numb to everything happening around you, surprised by how much you don't care anymore. Everywhere you go and everything you see may become a constant reminder of what you have lost. You thought it would end after a few weeks, a few months, or even years — but it is still there. Family and friends are becoming concerned for you, yet no one seems able to understand.

Your emotions may vacillate in waves. One day you feel easily overwhelmed and helpless, and the next you feel shut down and numb. You feel angry but don't know who to be angry with. You feel guilty but you don't know what you did wrong.

For many experiencing grief and loss, the root causes of their overwhelm can come from a breakdown in one of these areas:

• Attachment Insecurity: How we were parented — or not parented — provides a foundational aspect of our personality, which contributes to how we encounter our emotions, attend to our needs, and interact in relationships.
• Trauma: Unresolved wounding can perpetuate cycles of abuse and victimization, which keep us unable to develop and grow.
• Isolation and Loneliness: Without anyone to confide in, we all will fail to thrive. The pressure of keeping all mistakes, issues, problems, and emotions bottled up will lead anyone to either implode on themselves or explode onto others.
• Life Transitions and Busy Schedules: Sometimes life does not allow for the time to truly engage with grief, leaving us trying to push it down to deal with later. Then more life happens and we incur a debt of things that we have needed to grieve but have never faced.

I use a combination of Family Systems therapy, Attachment science, and Relational Psychodynamic therapy to help people engage in grief and come out the other side more connected to life. Family Systems therapy values the context you were born into and the patterns you learned to deal with relationships and emotions. Attachment science provides a foundational understanding for how you grew up, how it shaped your personality, and where the healing needs to occur. Relational Psychodynamic therapy guides us as we navigate your defenses, coping strategies, and your meaning for life.

My job, as it comes to grief, is to witness and guide you through this natural process. I attune to your emotions and needs in the moment, while guiding you to attach to the meaningful things in the process that will help you through. The secret to becoming fully alive again is to learn how to welcome all of it — otherwise you will be constantly haunted by grief.

This is not just an interest for me — I see it as a calling to help people in the DFW metroplex navigate grief and loss. With a Doctorate in Professional Counseling, I have extensive training and years of experience helping with these specific issues. I also stay current in the field, consult, and train with other clinicians so you can experience long-lasting change.

People journeying through grief and loss often tell us that they begin to:

• Sleep longer and more soundly at night
• Feel more connected to a sense of purpose in their daily lives
• Be more present with the ones they love
• Engage in a sense of joy and beauty again
• Feel a sense of peace with their family history and their past
• Feel at home with their waves of emotion
• Integrate who or what they have lost into who they are with gratitude

This kind of therapy will involve deep work in a collaborative and exploratory space. I'm here as a guide and expert on therapy, while you are an expert in your life and experience. You and I will work together in a confidential environment and unpack all that you are facing, both in the present and in the past — and you can set the pace.

In our first session I want to hear all of the emotions you are experiencing, as well as get to know your history and background, which will provide context for our work together. Our first sessions are a place for you and me to get a sense of what treatment would look like and see if we are a good fit together.

Depending on how long the grief has been suppressed, or how complex the nature of the loss is itself, the length of your time in therapy may vary. However, you will likely begin to feel a positive shift in your life rather quickly — usually within the first month or so.

I recommend in-person therapy whenever possible to create a safe relational space. However, I do offer virtual options when necessary to accommodate my patients' busy schedules.