after a loss
Grief & Loss
Grief therapy is time that belongs only to the loss. Not to move on from someone, but to be able to carry them and still live. That includes the parts of grief nobody at home wants to hear.
what you get
- No timeline, and no pressure to be further along than you are
- Room for the complicated feelings — relief, anger, guilt — that grief is not supposed to include
- Support through firsts: the first birthday, the first festival, the anniversary
- Help telling ordinary grief apart from depression that needs its own treatment
who it can help
You do not need a diagnosis to start.
- A death, a diagnosis, a miscarriage, a marriage ending, a home left behind
- Grief that arrives late, or long after everyone else has moved on
- Feelings that feel wrong to say aloud: relief, anger, guilt
what happens
How your sessions will work.
Say it once, fully
Somewhere the story can be told without managing anyone else's reaction, and without a time limit on how long it takes.
The complicated parts
Relief that it is over. Anger at the person who died. Guilt about what was never said. All of it belongs in the room.
Carrying them
Working out what continuing looks like, including the firsts: the birthday, the festival, the anniversary.
your therapy pathway
What the journey looks like.
No fixed length. Some people come for a few sessions, others for months. This is the usual shape, not a contract. Your practitioner adjusts the pace to you, and you can pause or stop whenever you want.
Early sessions
Tell the story
Somewhere to talk about the person or the loss without managing anyone else's reaction, and with no time limit.
As it unfolds
The hard feelings
Room for relief, anger and guilt, the parts of grief nobody at home wants to hear.
Through the year
The firsts
Support through the first birthday, festival and anniversary without them.
When you're ready
Carry them with you
Working out what carrying on looks like, with that person still part of your life. Your therapist will also watch for signs that grief has turned into depression, which needs its own care.
Read more: Grief & loss · Low mood & depression
common questions
Before you begin
Whenever it is heavy. A week later or eleven years later are both reasonable.