Is grief only about death?

No. Grief shows up around any significant loss — a relationship ending, a career shift, estrangement, a major life change, even the loss of an identity that once organized your sense of self. Ambiguous losses are particularly hard: when there's no clear ending point, no ritual, no social recognition that something real has been lost. That kind of grief can feel especially disorienting.

How long should grief last?

There's no timeline. The expectation that grief should wind down by a certain point often just adds shame to an already difficult experience. Grief changes over time — but it doesn't disappear on a schedule, and some losses stay woven into who you are. The goal isn't to get over it. It's to find a way to carry it that doesn't require carrying it alone.

What does grief therapy actually involve?

It creates room to understand what the loss actually means — emotionally, relationally, in terms of who you are now that something has changed. We look at what it represented, what it's stirred up, what parts of you feel unmoored. We pay attention to how grief lives in the body, not just the mind. Less about fixing, more about integration.

Can grief reactivate older pain?

Frequently. A significant loss often echoes earlier experiences — of abandonment, neglect, emotional disconnection. A current loss can bring older, unprocessed grief to the surface. That's not a complication. It's usually an opening.

Do you work with people experiencing anticipatory grief?

Yes. Anticipatory grief — the grief that arrives before a loss, when someone you love is seriously ill — is real and valid even when the loss hasn't happened yet. It can be particularly isolating because the loss isn't officially here. Therapy offers a place to hold that experience without minimizing it or waiting for things to get worse before seeking support.

Grief & Loss Therapy in NYC and across New York & Florida

When your life shifts dramatically

The death of a loved one can create an flood of complicated, and sometimes conflicting, emotions. You may feel sadness, anxiety, irritability, numbness, or a sense of groundlessness. Others may expect you to “move on” more quickly than feels natural. Grief can surface in unexpected ways.

Loss is also not limited to death. It can include:

The end of a relationship
A career change
Becoming a parent
Moving cities or countries
Letting go of an identity that once defined you

Even positive transitions can be disorienting.

Understanding ambiguous loss

Ambiguous loss occurs when someone or something is physically present but emotionally absent (or vice versa) or when a loss remains unclear or unresolved.

This can look like:

A relationship ending without closure
Estrangement from family members
Moving far away from loved ones
A partner becoming emotionally unavailable
A family member living with dementia or degenerative illness

Because there is no clear ending point, ambiguous loss can feel especially destabilizing - leaving you suspended between holding on and letting go.

The emotional complexity of grief and transition

Grief, ambiguous loss, and life transitions often activate deeper emotional layers. You might find yourself struggling with feelings you didn't expect: anger at people you love, fear that the ground will never feel stable again, a sudden loneliness even when surrounded by others, or questions about who you are now that something essential has changed.

For some, grief can also reactivate earlier trauma, especially if loss echoes previous experiences of abandonment, neglect, or emotional disconnection.

You may appear composed externally while internally feeling disoriented or emotionally raw. These experiences can shape relationships, career decisions, and your sense of direction in life.

My approach

In grief and life transition therapy, we move at a pace that respects your unique grieving process.

Rather than rushing toward closure, we create space to understand what the loss means, emotionally, relationally, and developmentally. We explore what the loss represents, what it activates, and what parts of you feel destabilized or in the process of reforming. We pay attention to how grief lives in the body as well as the mind, because loss is physiological as much as it is psychological.

This work is less about “fixing” and more about integration: allowing grief to be metabolized rather than avoided.

A note on my experience with grief

My understanding of grief is not only clinical. Each year I serve as a volunteer grief specialist at Experience Camps, a bereavement program for children who have lost a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. There I facilitate grief circles, drawing on somatic work, expressive modalities, and relational approaches. I also work with campers individually as needed, and provide support during moments of acute distress.

Working with children in the immediate, unmediated presence of their grief, before it has been managed or explained away, has shaped how I understand loss at a fundamental level. It has reinforced something I believe deeply: that grief needs space, witness, and a body-aware approach, not a timeline or a framework for moving on.

Therapy as a space to make meaning

Over time, grief therapy can help you process what's unresolved, understand how loss is affecting your relationships, rebuild a sense of internal stability, and develop a renewed sense of direction - one that honors what was lost without losing yourself in the process.

Grief does not disappear, but it can become less isolating and less disorienting when held within a steady therapeutic relationship.

If you’re navigating grief or loss in NYC or across New York and Florida, I’d welcome the chance to support you through it.

This work typically takes place in individual therapy, though I also work with couples where relevant.

No. Grief shows up around any significant loss: a relationship ending, a career shift, estrangement, a major life change, even the loss of an identity that once organized your sense of self. Ambiguous losses are particularly hard because there's no clear ending point, no ritual, no social recognition that something real has been lost. That kind of grief can feel especially disorienting.
There's no timeline. The expectation that grief should wind down by a certain point often just adds shame to an already difficult experience. Grief changes over time — but it doesn't disappear on a schedule, and some losses stay woven into who you are. The goal isn't to get over it. It's to find a way to carry it that doesn't require carrying it alone.
It creates room to understand what the loss actually means — emotionally, relationally, in terms of who you are now that something has changed. We look at what it represented, what it's stirred up, what parts of you feel unmoored. We pay attention to how grief lives in the body, not just the mind. Less about fixing, more about integration.
It frequently does. A significant loss often echoes earlier experiences of abandonment, neglect, emotional disconnection. A current loss can bring older, unprocessed grief to the surface. That's not a complication. It's usually an opening.
Yes. Anticipatory grief, the grief that arrives before a loss, when someone you love is seriously ill, is real and valid even when the loss hasn't happened yet. It can be particularly isolating because the loss isn't officially here. Therapy offers a place to hold that experience without minimizing it or waiting for things to get worse before seeking support.

Let's Connect