Your animals, and your feelings for them, matter.
The relationship you have with your animal (or animals!) is an incredibly special and unique bond. And, it can often feel misunderstood by the people in your life (or society in general), and especially when our animals are going through health issues or when they pass, it can feel especially lonely for the humans involved. And this has never been more true, as more and more people are recognizing that the relationship they have with their animals is just like that of parent and child. Yet, when our animals are experiencing hardship, or when we lose them to illness or old age, the grief we feel is often not held with the same empathy and compassionate care as when we experience the same thing with our fellow humans.
If you’re experiencing stress or grief within your relationship with your animal and you’re craving support that actually sees you and your unique struggle, I want to honor your process and walk with you along this complex and emotional journey.
How can therapy help?
Connection can be such a valuable tool when we’re grieving. And often that can feel hard to do, especially when it feels like no one else gets it.
Grief isn’t a thing that we’re collectively very good at responding to, especially in white-centric societies.
And grieving the loss, or impending loss, of your companion animal can come with a lot of responses from other people who are well-meaning but maybe unhelpful.
Like any form of grief, therapy can be a safe and supportive space to feel, to process, to not feel rushed as you mourn.
And the loss of a companion animal or fur child is a unique kind of grief…one you deserve time to feel.
And you don’t have to feel it alone.
Therapy can first be a space where you can trust there is no judgment. And with me, there is also a deep understanding of the importance of your animal.
We often feel pushed to “get over it,” and that’s just usually not how grief goes.
It can linger, take different shapes, pop up when we least expect it.
Having tools to feel those feelings, and to cope with them, can helpful as you give yourself the time you need to understand your grief.
In the therapy room, we can honor your animal. Use their name. Recognize the connection you have with them.
We can name and better understand all of the mixture of emotions you might be feeling.
We can get to know how your body is carrying such immense pain, and how to use that awareness.
We can identify ways that you can feel supported—not to try to move past the grief too quickly, but to believe that you are strong enough to be present with this indescribable pain, and that the pain will morph and shift over time.
You will too.
Grief changes us, and we change it.
Losing your animal is an unspeakable loss. And at the same time, therapy can give you space to speak it. To name it. And to believe that you can carry on without your animal, even when it feels impossible.
My approach in the therapy room is gentle, warm, and deeply compassionate. I honor your autonomy, your experiences, and your needs. I help clients identify the narratives that are informing their experiences, reshaping the ones that are out of alignment with your fullest self. I am client-centered and strengths-based, and I allow you to take the lead. I offer support in connecting or reconnecting with your body so that healing can feel more holistic and grounded. I also offer a non-religious, spiritual approach for clients who resonate with that in their process.
All of this is interwoven in the grief work I do with clients who are mourning the loss of their animals, and I would be honored to offer my support to you.