Grief is a natural response to loss, but when it feels unending, overwhelming, or tangled with other emotional difficulties, it may be what’s known as complicated grief. This form of bereavement can feel isolating, especially when others expect you to have “moved on”. If you’re struggling with a loss that doesn’t seem to ease over time, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to face it without support.
As a psychotherapist working with complicated grief, I offer a safe, relational space where we can gently explore what you’re going through.
What is Complicated Grief?
Complicated grief, sometimes called prolonged grief disorder, is a persistent and intense mourning that interferes with everyday life. It may come with feelings of guilt, anger, numbness, or even a sense of losing your own identity. People often say they feel “stuck” in their grief or disconnected from others.
This doesn’t mean you’re grieving wrongly, there’s no timetable or right way to mourn. But it does mean that something in your loss may need more careful attention, care, and understanding.
How can Psychotherapy Help?
In my work as a relational psychodynamic psychotherapist, I pay close attention not just to the story of the loss, but to your inner world, your memories, emotions, and the relationship you had (or wished for) with the person who died. Together, we make sense of how the past is shaping your present, including earlier losses, attachment patterns, or unresolved feelings.
Grief is not something to be fixed. It is something to be held, honoured, and understood. Our sessions can offer a space for exactly that: not rushing you to feel better, but supporting you to feel safe enough to feel at all.
Over time, psychotherapy can help you begin to re-engage with life while still holding space for the one you’ve lost. We work at your pace, with warmth, compassion, and the recognition that healing is rarely linear.
Bereavement Support Counselling with a Relational Focus
Bereavement support counselling offers an opportunity to speak freely without pressure or judgment. In a relational approach, what happens between us in the therapy room becomes part of the healing. The therapeutic relationship itself offers something reparative, a place where your grief is not too much, and where you’re not alone in carrying it. Whether your loss was recent or decades ago, therapy can help you reconnect with parts of yourself that grief may have silenced.
Writing for Wellbeing as Part of the Healing Process
Many people find that writing for wellbeing can be a powerful companion to therapy, and a valuable way to continue the work of healing even after therapy ends. Whether it’s journaling, poetry, letters to the person you’ve lost, or simply noting how you feel each day, therapeutic writing allows expression that doesn’t need to be polished or shared.
Sometimes, words on a page can hold what feels too much to say out loud. In therapy, we can explore what emerges in your writing, and how it reflects your inner process. Long after sessions have ended, writing can remain a tool for reflection, connection, and gentle processing.
You Don’t Have to Go Through This Alone
If you’re living with grief that feels too heavy or complicated to manage alone, reaching out for help is a meaningful step. I offer bereavement support counselling for adults who want to explore their grief in a safe and relational space.
If you’re curious about working with a psychotherapist on your experiences of complicated grief, you’re welcome to get in touch. Whether or not we work together, I want you to know this: grief deserves time, kindness, and company, and it’s okay to seek support.
