Therapy for Grief & Loss
In-person therapy in Beverly Hills and surrounding Westside neighborhoods. Telehealth sessions available across California.
Understanding Grief & Loss
To mourn is to choose life in a world emptied of the ones we love. To refuse mourning is to let part of ourselves die, sparing us the pain of living in their absence. Grief and loss touch some of the deepest layers of our emotional lives. When we lose someone or something meaningful, the mind and body often struggle to take in the reality of that absence.
At times, grief becomes stalled or tangled with guilt, anger, or disbelief. In our work together, I offer a space where these complex feelings can be expressed, contained, and gradually worked through, allowing mourning to unfold in its own time and for new meaning to emerge alongside the pain.
Located in Beverly Hills, my practice offers a thoughtful, open space to explore these struggles and gently uncover their deeper, unconscious roots.
Common Signs & Symptoms of Grief
Numbness, disbelief, or a sense of unreality
Waves of sadness, anger, or guilt
Changes in sleep, appetite, energy, or concentration
Pulling away from family, friends, school, or work
Feeling “stuck,” flat, or unable to imagine a future
My Approach to Working with Grief
My approach is warm, steady, and depth-oriented. We attend to what is spoken and explore the memories, regrets, and longings that often sit beneath the surface. Rather than forcing closure, we support mourning to unfold in its own time.
In our sessions, we will:
Make room for the full range of feelings: Numbness, anger, guilt, relief, love…
Link the past and present: Notice how earlier losses or family patterns shape this grief.
Honor continuing bonds: Find ways to live with the loss that maintains the relationship in new ways.
Rebuild rhythms: Add simple routines that support sleep, appetite, and concentration while deeper work continues.
The Impact of Grief on Daily Life
School & Work: Difficulty focusing, missed deadlines, uneven performance
Relationships: Feeling alone with the loss, irritability, or conflict around how others grieve
Body & Sleep: Fatigue, restlessness, or disrupted sleep that amplifies low mood
Meaning & Routine: Loss of interest, uncertainty about “how to be” in a changed world
Frequently Asked Questions about Grief & Loss
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Psychoanalytic therapy helps with grief by creating space to feel what the loss actually means to you, including the parts that are difficult to say aloud: anger at the person who died, guilt over what was left unspoken, or relief mixed with sorrow. Grief is not just about losing someone. It involves losing the version of yourself that existed in relation to them. Therapy helps you process both dimensions so that mourning can move rather than stay frozen.
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No. Grief does not follow a predictable schedule, and there is no correct way to move through it. Some days feel manageable; others bring the loss back as if it just happened. Psychoanalytic therapy respects this unevenness rather than imposing a timeline. Sessions follow your pace while paying attention to where mourning feels stuck, rushed, or avoided.
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Complicated grief, sometimes called prolonged grief disorder, describes a form of mourning that remains intensely painful and functionally disruptive well beyond what would be expected. The person may feel unable to accept the reality of the loss, stay away from anything connected to the person who died, or experience a persistent emptiness that does not ease with time. Complicated grief often involves unresolved aspects of the relationship that make letting go feel impossible without professional support.
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Grief and depression share symptoms like sadness, withdrawal, and difficulty sleeping, but they differ in important ways. Grief tends to come in waves connected to the loss, with moments of warmth or even humor alongside the pain. Depression is more pervasive: a flatness or emptiness that colors everything regardless of the situation. Grief can develop into depression when mourning gets blocked or complicated, which is one reason therapy during grief can be protective.
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Yes. Loss disrupts your sense of safety in ways that often manifest as anxiety. After a significant loss, you may find yourself worrying about the health of people close to you, feeling hypervigilant about danger, or experiencing panic that seems unrelated to the grief. These are not separate problems. They are expressions of a nervous system that has learned, through loss, that what you love can be taken away.
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You do not need to be in crisis to begin grief therapy. Professional support may be especially helpful if several months have passed without any easing, if persistent numbness has developed, or if you find yourself unable to return to the rhythms of daily life. Many people seek therapy not because the grief is unbearable, but because they sense that something about their mourning has stalled.
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Common goals include building tolerance for the emotional waves that grief brings, restoring sleep and daily routine, reconnecting with others after a period of withdrawal, and finding meaningful ways to carry the relationship forward in its changed form. Goals are established together and revised as the work unfolds. The aim is not to "get over" the loss but to be able to live fully alongside it.
