Grief Counseling

Compassionate Support for Loss, Trauma, and Life Transitions

Grief is not a problem to solve. It is an experience to move through.

At Sage Leaf Wellness (SLW), we provide grief counseling for adults navigating the emotional, relational, and physiological impact of loss. Whether your grief is recent, complicated, traumatic, or long-standing, therapy offers a space to process what has changed—and who you are becoming in the aftermath.

Grief can follow the death of a loved one, but it can also arise from divorce, estrangement, infertility, miscarriage, medical diagnosis, career loss, traumatic events, or life transitions that disrupt your sense of stability and identity.

You do not have to carry it alone.

Understanding Grief Beyond the Stages

Many people are familiar with the “five stages of grief” model popularized by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. While this framework helped normalize grief conversations, modern research shows that grief is rarely linear. It does not unfold in neat stages, nor does it follow a predictable timeline.

Grief can look like:

  • Persistent sadness or numbness

  • Anger, guilt, or regret

  • Anxiety or hypervigilance

  • Emotional overwhelm

  • Sleep disruption

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Changes in appetite or energy

  • Withdrawal from relationships

  • Feeling “stuck” months or years later

Sometimes grief is compounded by trauma. Sudden, violent, or unexpected losses can overwhelm the nervous system, leading to symptoms consistent with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In these cases, therapy may focus on both grief processing and trauma resolution.

Our Approach to Grief Counseling

At SLW, we view grief through a trauma-informed and attachment-centered lens. Loss affects not only your emotions but your nervous system, identity, and sense of safety.

Our work may include:

Processing the Story of the Loss

Creating space to talk about what happened—at your pace—while supporting nervous system regulation.

Internal Family Systems (IFS)-Informed Therapy

Exploring the different “parts” of you that hold sadness, anger, guilt, relief, or confusion. Grief is rarely one feeling. It is often a complex internal system.

EMDR for Traumatic Loss

When appropriate, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can help reduce the intensity of intrusive memories, medical trauma, or sudden loss experiences.

Meaning Reconstruction

Grief often disrupts identity and purpose. Therapy can support you in redefining your relationship to the person or experience you’ve lost while integrating it into your ongoing life story.

Behavioral Activation & Regulation

Grief can reduce motivation and energy. We work collaboratively to build gentle structure and re-engagement with life while honoring your emotional capacity.

Types of Grief We Support

We provide counseling for:

  • Death of a spouse or partner

  • Loss of a parent

  • Child loss

  • Loss of a pet

  • Ambiguous loss

  • Miscarriage and infertility

  • Divorce or separation

  • Estrangement from family

  • Traumatic loss

  • Loss related to addiction

  • Occupational loss or forced retirement

  • Identity shifts after illness or injury

We also support professionals and first responders experiencing cumulative grief and exposure to repeated traumatic loss.

When Grief Feels “Stuck”

Grief does not have a timeline—but sometimes it becomes complicated by:

  • Avoidance of reminders

  • Persistent guilt or self-blame

  • Emotional numbing

  • Substance use as coping

  • Ongoing trauma activation

  • Isolation

If months or years have passed and the intensity feels unchanged, you are not broken. Your nervous system may still be protecting you.

Therapy helps create safety so grief can move—rather than remain frozen.

What to Expect in Grief Counseling

Grief counseling at Sage Leaf Wellness is:

  • Non-pathologizing

  • Trauma-informed

  • Relational

  • Collaborative

  • Grounded in nervous system regulation

You will not be rushed toward “acceptance.” You will not be told to “move on.” Instead, we create space for:

  • Telling the truth about your loss

  • Identifying emotional patterns

  • Understanding triggers

  • Strengthening coping capacity

  • Rebuilding connection and meaning

Healing does not mean forgetting. It means learning how to carry what happened without being consumed by it.

Signs It May Be Time to Reach Out

You may benefit from grief counseling if:

  • You feel overwhelmed or emotionally shut down

  • You are avoiding reminders of the loss

  • Your relationships are suffering

  • You feel disconnected from your identity

  • You are using substances to cope

  • You cannot imagine moving forward

Seeking support is not a sign of weakness—it is an act of courage and care.

Grief Is an Expression of Love

Grief exists because something mattered deeply.

At Sage Leaf Wellness, we believe healing happens when grief is witnessed, honored, and integrated—not minimized.

If you are navigating loss and need a steady, compassionate place to process, we are here to help.

Schedule a consultation today or reach out to learn more about grief counseling at Sage Leaf Wellness.