Grief Counseling  

Recovering From the Loss of a Loved One Through Grief Counseling

Are you wondering if grief counseling could help you?

Have you suffered the loss of a loved one through death, divorce or separation?

Are you having a difficult time recovering?

Do sad feelings sometimes overwhelm you for long periods of time?

Are you wondering if you will ever get over this loss?

Do you long to be happy and free again, but despair of ever getting back to that place?

You Are Not Alone

Many of us have experienced the loss of a loved one through death, divorce or some other form of separation at some time or another in our lives.  It seems that the experience of loss comes with being human.  Perhaps you have already tried grief counseling without much success.  You may be wondering if it is possible to fully recover from the loss of a loved one and, if so, how?

My name is Dan Kendrick, I live in Longmont, Colorado, and I specialize in grief counseling for people who are suffering from the loss of a loved one.  Sometimes what we need to get through the grieving process is the support and assistance of a compassionate and understanding grief counselor. Perhaps you are looking for someone like me, with whom you can share, someone you trust, someone who has been there and who knows how to really listen.  Someone who can give you the support that you need at this time in your grieving process.

About the Grieving Process and the Nature of My Grief Counseling Sessions

From what I have seen in my grief counseling sessions, everyone’s grieving process is different.  The degree of pain and suffering varies from person to person. Some people take longer to grieve than others.  The issues involved in a specific loss could be very simple and straightforward or very complicated. It is important to note that there is really no right or wrong way to do it.  Accepting the way you are experiencing your grief at this moment is always a good place to start.

In our first grief counseling session together, I will ask you to share with me what you have been experiencing so far around the loss of your loved one.  I provide a safe space for you to share. I hold what you share as sacred and value you and your experience. It is so important for you to have ample opportunities to talk about your loss, without feeling like you are dumping this on someone who may not be able to hear it as you would like.  You may find if difficult to find people in your life with whom you can just talk about the one you lost, how you miss them, what it was like when the two of you were together and what it is like now that they are gone. Just having a place where you can come and talk about all of these things with another person who empathizes with you is of tremendous value in the grieving process.  You will have ample time to share with someone who cares.

You have probably already found yourself in some challenging places in your grieving process.  It is not unusual to be angry at God for taking your loved one. You may find yourself feeling sad, even despairing that you will ever feel happy again.  Or you may just be apathetically going through the motions of life without much feeling at all.  Whatever you are experiencing, we can address it all in our sessions.  Again, sometimes just having an empathetic ear can be enough to significantly ease the pain.

Both my Mom and Dad have now transitioned, and I have a great deal of empathy for anyone who has experienced the transition of a loved one.  The grieving process goes beyond words and ideas that you may read out of a book. It is it’s own living organism and it is very unique to you.

But if you are not giving yourself the chance to fully connect with your unique process, then you may run into roadblocks that can keep you stuck in one place.  Getting stuck can result in increased pain and suffering. I have found that the grieving process is something best experienced by continuing to move through it.  There is a flow to it. In our grief counseling sessions together, I will work with you to help you identify any places where you may be stuck and can make suggestions to you, if you like, of how to return to the flow of your grieving process, which in itself can ease your suffering.

Take Heart.  There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel

I have found that regardless of how anyone is grieving, that the natural movement tends to flow towards healing, wholeness and deeper loving.  However, it may be hard to see this on your own, especially if you find yourself in one of those hard places which can show up where there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.  If that is where you find yourself, take heart. Remember that you are still in the midst of an unfolding process that can eventually lead you into greater loving and wholeness. It is so important to be loving and forgiving and understanding of yourself as you go through this process.

Frequently Asked Questions

I feel so much pain around my loss.  I am afraid of going any deeper into it and opening up something that I am not sure I can handle.  I feel somewhat overwhelmed. How could your approach to grief counseling help me?

The feelings of overwhelm are not at all unusual for someone experiencing grief.  It is not uncommon for one to be afraid of some of these feelings. You can actually get in a place where you believe that if you give over to what you are feeling inside, that it will completely overtake you and that you may end up in a place you don’t want to go.  Quite often fears such as these are generated from places within us that do not fully recognize the value of expressing what is true for us at any given moment.

Many of us have not had the opportunity to establish enough positive reference points for expressing our feelings as they show up inside of us.  This is something that you can learn to do. I have been trained in a number of modalities that can help you do just that. Expressing something inside of you that wants to come out can assist you in staying in the flow of your process that I mentioned above that can be so beneficial to you.

How can I know that your approach to grief counseling can help me?

I can’t guarantee you that my approach to grief counseling will work for you.  The only way you can find out if it will work for you is to lean into it by coming in for a session or two.  Once you have had that experience with me, then you will know more fully how you want to proceed from there. Or, you could take me up on my free offer for a 30 minute phone consultation where you would be free to ask me any questions that you would like about my approach to grief counseling.  That also could give you a better idea of how my approach might work for you.

How long should I expect to be coming to the grief counseling sessions?

The time varies for everyone.  I had one client that came in for one session and that’s all it took.  Others have a longer process. The timing of it is really up to you. I think that you will know when you come to the point of the realization that you are complete with your grief counseling sessions.

My Offer to You:  A Free 30 Minute Phone Consultation

You may still be wondering if you really need grief counseling.  So I want to make taking this first step as easy as I can for you by offering you a free, no obligation 30 minute phone consultation.  Why am I giving you a free 30 minute phone consultation? I would like for you to have a chance to get to know me, beyond what you see on my web-site.  Visiting with each other on the phone can give us a chance to get to know each other better. And by the end of our consultation, you will have an even better idea of how my approach to grief counseling could benefit you.  You can call me at (303) 485-9086.