Grief and Loss
Grief Counseling in Texas
Grief does not keep a schedule, and it does not wait until you have time for it. Counseling gives it a steady place to go, by secure video from wherever you are in Texas.
Every Kind of Loss Counts
Some losses are recognized right away: a death, a funeral, cards in the mail. Others barely get named. An estrangement from a parent. A friendship that ended without explanation. A move that took you away from your people. A pregnancy you rarely mention. A role that ended, like a career or a season of parenting.
In my work, losses that are recognized and losses that are not both deserve care, with no timetable and no tidy stages. You do not need anyone's permission to grieve something that mattered to you.
What Grief Can Feel Like
Grief is not only sadness. It can feel like exhaustion, fog, irritability, guilt, relief, numbness or anger, sometimes all in one afternoon. It can show up in the body as broken sleep, a lost appetite or a tight chest. It often comes in waves: quiet for days, then set off by a song or a grocery aisle.
- Trouble concentrating at work or school.
- Replaying the last conversation, or the one you never got to have.
- Dreading anniversaries, holidays and birthdays.
- Feeling like everyone else has moved on without you.
How We Work on It
You set the pace. Some sessions will be about telling the story of the person or the life you lost. Others will be about getting through this week: the paperwork, the empty chair, the first holiday without them. We use cognitive behavioral therapy gently, for the thoughts that add weight, like “I should be over this by now” or “It was my fault.”
The aim is not to stop missing them or to erase what happened. It is to carry the loss in a way that leaves room for the rest of your life.
There is no right way to grieve and no deadline for it. There is only your way, at your pace.
When Grief and Depression Overlap
Grief and depression share a lot of ground, and sometimes one turns into the other. If the heaviness has settled in for months, if you have stopped caring about almost everything, or if you feel hopeless about the future, it is worth talking about. That is not a failure at grieving. It is a sign you need more support.
If you are thinking about ending your life, please do not wait for an opening in a therapy schedule. Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and available 24/7, or call 911 if you are in immediate danger.
Faith, If You Want It in the Room
For some people, loss shakes their faith or brings up hard questions about God. If you want prayer, scripture or those questions to be part of our work, we can include them, only if you ask. If not, the grief work is exactly the same. You can read more about Christian counseling and about when grief tests your faith.
Sessions are fifty minutes by secure video, which can matter on days when leaving the house feels like too much. The first step is a free consultation through Work With Me.
Common Questions
- How long does grief counseling take?
- There is no set length. Some people want support through one hard season, and others want steady support over a longer stretch, especially around anniversaries. We revisit your goals out loud as we go, so the pace is a conversation, not a policy.
- Is it normal to still be grieving after a year?
- Yes. Grief does not follow a calendar, and anniversaries can bring it back strongly. What matters more than the timeline is how much it is getting in the way of your life. If it feels stuck or keeps pulling you under, that is a good reason to talk.
- Can I get counseling for a loss that was not a death?
- Yes. Divorce, estrangement, infertility, a move, a lost job or the end of a friendship can all bring real grief. If it mattered to you, it counts here.
You Do Not Have to Carry It Alone
Book a free consultation and tell me about the loss you are carrying. We will go at whatever pace feels right to you.