Integrative Therapy for Grief and Loss

‘Grief literacy advocate’ Stephen Jenkinson writes, “Grief is not a feeling, it is a capacity. It is not something that disables you, we are not on the receiving end of grief, we are on the practicing end of grief.” (Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul).

Grief is a practice that Western culture has largely forgotten. While loss remains universal, many of us have never been taught how to sit with it, hold it, or grow our capacity for it. In the absence of rituals, communal care, or guidance from elders, grief often becomes something we try to hide or manage on our own. Yet grief is not a problem to fix. It is an expression of love and an instinct of the body to integrate what has changed.

In therapy, grief work begins by slowing down and making room for what the body already knows. The process may involve exploring sensations of heaviness, fatigue, or restlessness, and learning to meet those experiences with awareness rather than avoidance. Through a somatic and trauma-informed lens, we begin to understand grief not only as emotional pain but as a physiological process of recalibration and renewal.

Grief can arise from many forms of loss, including death, separation, illness, identity shifts, or the end of a way of life. It can also appear during moments of profound change, when something meaningful is left behind. Therapy provides a grounded space to move through these experiences at a sustainable pace, honoring what has been lost while staying connected to what endures.

I work with clients across New York and Connecticut through secure virtual sessions. Together we create space for grief to be witnessed, supported, and allowed to move. With time, the capacity to grieve becomes the capacity to live more fully.