Grief Counseling in portland & throughout oregon
Grief Therapy for Women
types of loss i work with
What is Early Grief?
Early grief is the period after loss when you feel completely undone while life demands you keep going. It isn’t defined by the calendar. For some, it's the first 6 months after. For others, it's longer. Sometimes it just takes our brains longer to process what happened. Signs you’re in early grief: you feel like you are living in a fog, you’re barely able to take care of your own basic needs, and simple decisions feel ridiculously difficult.
Therapy for early grief helps you process what happened while finding ways to manage what can't be put on hold. The goal isn't to rush through grief or skip it, but to navigate it while still showing up for life.
What is Sudden or Traumatic Loss?
Sudden loss is when someone is gone without warning, leaving no time to prepare or say what needed saying. The loss feels both surreal and overwhelming at once.
The feelings can be confusing and intense. Anger that this happened. Betrayal that they left. Deep sadness mixed with wondering if you could have done more to prevent it. All of it can feel overwhelming.
Therapy for sudden loss addresses both the grief and the trauma response. We work at a pace that feels safe, helping your nervous system settle while you process what happened.
What is Complicated Grief?
Complicated grief occurs when a relationship was difficult, abusive, or strained, before the loss which creates mixed feelings after their gone. This all can bring both relief and guilt. The deepest pain can come from grieving what never got to exist between you, and then anger that all opportunity to resolve it is gone too.
Loved ones often don't know how to support grief that's complicated. They expect only sadness, not the mixed feelings that are actually present. This can leave you processing alone.
Mixed feelings about a loss is normal. Therapy for complex grief makes space for all of it. The anger, the relief, the guilt, the sadness, the confusion. All of it is valid.
Wherever you are in your grief, you don't have to navigate it alone.
If you're ready to take the next step, let's talk.
frequently asked questions
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You're in the right place. Grief is messy and rarely does it fit neatly into one category. A sudden loss can also be complicated. Early grief can involve traumatic elements. If this is you, therapy can helpful.
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Such a great question! There are so many other types of grief that I didn’t address here like job loss, natural disaster, debilitating health diagnosis, divorce…all is welcome here. You are welcome here.
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Most likely, if you're asking this question, you probably are. Early grief isn't about how many months it's been since the loss. It's about whether you're still in that disoriented, barely-functioning state where everything feels impossible. Some people describe it as living in a fog, barely able to take care of their basic needs. Some experience early grief for a few months. Others are there for 6 months. Sometimes our brains just need more time to process. And each loss is different.
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Yes! Grief doesn't follow the timeline most of us expect. The Western cultural message that you should be "over it" by a year (or six months, or whatever arbitrary deadline) doesn't match how grief actually works. If you're still grieving, you're not stuck. You're grieving. And there is a way to walk through it that honors the love you had for them and allows you to keep moving in your daily life. I promise.
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This is more common than people realize, which means you are normal. You can love someone deeply and also have had a painful or difficult relationship with them. Complicated grief doesn't mean the relationship was only negative. It means the feelings are mixed, layered, and hard to untangle. Therapy makes space for all of it.
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Absolutely not! My specialty is working with women, and I would also be honored to work with men.