Grief and Loss

Grief and loss are probably one of the most predominant reasons we experience emotional symptoms and seek therapeutic support. The work of grief can be a complicated process that takes time and patience. It includes the complicated process of letting go and saying good-bye so as to allow for new life, but it is not a process we can predict or control. Each grieving journey has its own quality and narrative. Whether it be a loss of a pregnancy, a baby, a partner or loved one, a divorce or a job loss, the process of accepting the ending requires our ability to not minimize our experience so as to appear “normal” for those around us. A “new normal” begins to emerge as the loss becomes integrated into our life story. Dreams and art aid in the process of expressing what longs to be heard. There is no correct way to grieve; the loss teaches us each time anew how best to hold onto the thread and find our way out of a maze of painful darkness into a new life with meaning and purpose.