Compassionate Grief Therapy in San Francisco, CA
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Grief and loss comes in many forms. Sometimes what brings you here is the heartbreaking loss of a spouse, child, friend, parent, or beloved pet. It can show up as the loss of a relationship due to estrangement or divorce; anticipatory loss and detachment from someone or something that you know is dying; disconnection from one’s culture, sense of belonging, and diasporic grief; or environmental catastrophes, injustices, and the grief of watching the dissolution of democracy. It can even show up abruptly after years of repressing it. The pain or inability to face the pain may feel intolerable and suffocating, or at times, so hard to access you feel stuck in a state of perpetual numbness and isolation.
From my own life experience of traumatic loss of a parent as a child, I have learned that giving yourself the space and permission to fully grieve your loss is a precious and necessary step towards healing. Throughout my years of work I have found somatic-based EMDR therapy to be deeply respectful and supportive in helping you move through your loss, along with the framework of holding grief with reverence and care and allowing for the medicine of it to be metabolized in its own time with the proper container.
I have been specializing in grief and loss since 2015 and would be honored to be your companion through these rough waters. Feel free to reach out to see if 1:1 grief therapy, trauma therapy, group work, or community rituals would be helpful for you in this tender time.
For grief gatherings, retreats and trainings, please visit Grief Medicine
Books can be loyal companions when we are grieving the loss of a loved one. Here are a few that I strongly recommend:
The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller
It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok by Megan Devine
Understanding Your Grief by Alan Wolfelt
How to Survive the Loss of a Love by Peter McWilliams, Harold Bloomfield, M.D., Melba Colgrove, Ph.D
Unattended Sorrow by Stephen Levine
Children’s Books
Remember the Secret by Eisabeth Kübler-Ross
The Fall of Freddie and the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia
Where Is My Daddy by Alexandria Romero
Here is my guided meditation for grief that you can find here
Here is an article I wrote on the challenges of grieving in a busy world.
If you would like to access my talk series grief from the Simple Habit Wellness App, please click here.
Here is a Google Doc of virtual grief groups
Traumatic Loss In-Person Group Therapy
Wednesdays, beginning Fall 2025 (Please email to get added to the waiting list)
For some of us, there are moments where our lives change forever, and we have no choice or say in the matter. Losing a loved one in a traumatic and unexpected way is one of these moments. This group is here for you to process your loss and honor your loved one in a welcoming, inviting space, with the help of some psychoeducation, writing, art, and group sharing, to help you move across the threshold into this forever changed identity.
Contact
I offer both virtual and in-person sessions. My office is in the Inner Richmond, SF, 94118
Please email or call my confidential VM at (650) 762-9220 to schedule an appointment