Grief & Trauma Insights

The articles shared here are reflections on grief, trauma, and loss, drawn from clinical experience and research. They are intended to offer perspective and understanding, not to provide diagnosis or treatment. 

If you see your experience reflected in one or more of these Insights, you might benefit from therapy focused on grief or trauma. I encourage you to use the contact page to schedule an appointment. 

  • Following the loss of a loved one, it is common to experience some level of grief for about 1-2 years. However, approximately 10 percent of bereaved people will experience painful grief feelings for an indefinite amount of time, at the same intensity and frequency as if the death just happened. This is known as Complicated Grief or Prolonged Grief Disorder. The hallmark of complicated grief is an inability to accept the loss, while also having great difficulty imagining a life without the deceased person. Complicated grief does not get better with time or on its own. Instead, it requires targeted therapy from a mental health provider with the expertise to guide the griever to a place of healing.

  • Although depression, grief, and trauma have some overlapping symptoms and can co-occur following a loss, they are actually very different. Stated simply, depression is about how you feel about yourself, situation, or future. Grief is how you feel about losing a person who has died. And, trauma is what you experience in relation to how the person died. 

    As well as being different experiences, these conditions also require different treatments, which is why working with a knowledgeable, trained therapist can be beneficial.