FAQS

About my practice

Are you a licensed mental health professional (counselor, therapist, psychiatrist, etc.) or doctor?

No. I am not a licensed mental health professional or medical provider.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Holistic and Integrative Health. During my undergraduate studies, I focused on death, dying, bereavement, spirituality, and religion. I also studied Reiki during that time.

I completed my End-of-Life Doula training through INELDA (International End of Life Doula Association) in 2019, earned a Certificate as a Grief Support Specialist from the University of Wisconsin in 2022, and trained as a Transformative Life Coach in 2023.

Over the course of seven years working within the long-term healthcare system, I supported hundreds of people through grief and end-of-life experiences. I participated in extensive professional development related to death and dying, grief and bereavement, end-of-life care and planning, active listening, and nonviolent communication. I am also a trained mediator and facilitator.

Integrative Grief Support is not licensed psychotherapy or medical care and is not intended to replace mental health treatment when such care is needed. It offers holistic, non-clinical support that can complement any therapy, counseling, or medical care that you might be receiving from another provider.

Reiki and energy work are provided for the basic purpose of relaxation and relief of tension and stress and is not a substitute for medical examination, diagnosis, or treatment.

My role is to provide compassionate and grounded presence and offer holistic support as individuals navigate grief, loss, and life's transitions.

What is integrative grief support?

Integrative grief support can help you explore ways to adapt to life after loss or transition, rebuild routines, process difficult emotions, and reconnect with who you are in relation to the shifted world around you.

My work focuses not on eliminating grief, but on helping you build a relationship with it that feels compassionate, grounded, and sustainable. Over time, that relationship can help you navigate future losses, transitions, personal challenges, or societal shifts.

Because grief can bring everything from the the painful and the messy, to the mysterious and the meaningful- integrative practices such as emotional exploration, mindfulness practices, energy work, creative expression, and legacy creation are offered help you process and move emotions, express what has been hard to put into words, and to create space to honor what we love, what we have lost, and the ways we have been shaped by those experiences.

Is there a specific framework you follow?

In our early sessions, we will spend time talking about your loved one, your transition, or the changes you have experienced, as well as what life has been like since.

As I learn about you, I will draw from and offer a variety of practices to help you integrate your loss.

I offer these invitations gently and encourage you to engage only with what feels meaningful and accessible to you. My role is not to direct your grief but to accompany you through it with curiosity, compassion, and respect.

Understanding Grief

When will I be done grieving?

As Earl Grollman wrote:

"Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve."

I do not believe grief is something we finish or complete. Grief and change are constants of life. Rather than something to overcome, grief often becomes a relationship that evolves over time.

The intensity of grief may change. Its shape may change. Our understanding of it may deepen. But because grief is connected to love, it often remains part of us in some form. My role is not to help you stop grieving, but to help you learn how to carry your grief with greater compassion and understanding.

How long will it take for me to move through my grief?

There is no typical loss, no right way to grieve, and no universal timeline.

Many people are familiar with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While these experiences may come up for some people, they don’t happen in a specific order, and not everyone experiences all of them.

Every person's grief journey is unique because every relationship, loss, and life circumstance is unique.

And grief itself is often a relationship that we build over time.

Is all grief work sad?

Not at all.

Grief can bring sadness, but it can also bring relief, gratitude, love, anger, confusion, laughter, numbness, joy, peace, and everything in between. There is room for every emotion and every experience.

Do you have any resources that you could share about grief?

Yes, please visit my grief resources page. And if you are looking for something specific, please don’t hesitate to ask.