Grief

What is traumatic grief?

Traumatic grief (or traumatic bereavement) happens when the grief process is interrupted by the exceptionally traumatic nature of the death. This can block a person from being able to progress through their grief process, and can create long-lasting and significant impacts on their mental health.

If you are traumatically bereaved, you may find yourself experiencing:

• Brain fog and difficulty concentrating

• Seemingly random and unsuspected surges of grief emotions

• Detachment from yourself or your loved ones

• Flashbacks or nightmares

• Intense fear and worry

• Intense and unpredictable emotions

• Feelings of isolation and loneliness

• Other uncontrollable or overwhelming emotions

You are not alone in this experience, and there is hope for peace and healing. Your story is not too much, and your grief deserves to be cared for.

The overlap of trauma and grief benefits from a specialized approach, with a professional who can hold space for every part of your experience. That’s why I completed the Trauma and Bereavement Graduate Certificate program during my masters degree, and then sought even further specialization by completing the requirements to become a Certified Thanatologist. I deeply understand the complexity of traumatic grief, and am incredibly honored to support the traumatically bereaved.

Why grief?

My passion for this work is fueled by my own experiences with death and loss. The first major death I had in my life was as a teenager, and I have a very clear memory of thinking “wait, the whole world just keeps going and she isn’t here?” I had nowhere to process those feelings, and then a few weeks later when I had another significant death in my life, it felt so clear to my teenage brain that this who grief thing is something that we are supposed to deal with for a few weeks then ignore. That never felt right to me, or to the memories and legacies of the people who I love. While training to be a therapist I had the opportunity to work with some amazing grief therapists and I learned that what I experienced isn’t unique, and that I can do something to help other grievers not have the same experience I did. I do this work in the memory of those I love who have died, and to support those of us who are still living without them here.