Grief counseling focuses on offering support for individuals who are undergoing loss and bereavement. At Biltmore Psychology and Counseling, we help people navigate the painful emotions and changes that come from loss and death in a way that is unique for each person. In grief counseling sessions, we help you understand what normal grief looks like and provide tools to process through this difficult time.
Our psychologists and counselors are trained to help you through your journey with grief by ensuring you are fully supported, heard and understood.
Individuals often seek grief counseling related to the following:
- Death of a parent, spouse, partner, child or friend
- Ending of a significant relationship with a spouse or partner
- Significant changes in one’s health or a loved one’s health
- Miscarriage and/or difficulty with fertility
- Recent loss of one’s job
- Loss or death of a family pet
If you’re experiencing grief and would like to learn how counseling can help, please call us at (480) 999-7070 to make an appointment today. Teletherapy and video sessions are also available for clients seeking grief counseling.
Teletherapy & Video Counseling Sessions Available
Biltmore Psychology and Counseling offers teletherapy sessions as a way to participate in counseling without needing to be physically present at our office.
Request a Free Consultation
Fill out the form below or call us at (480) 999-7070 for a free 10 minute consultation on how we can help with grief and loss.
FAQs About Grief Counseling
How Does Grief Counseling Work?
Grief counseling seeks to help individuals and families who have experienced the loss of a loved one to find a healthy way to process their feelings. Bereavement and grief can encompass a wide range of feelings including sadness, anger, despair, hopelessness, guilt and many other complicated emotions. Grief counseling helps identify what healthy grief looks like and gives them tools to process their emotions through this experience.
What are the Different Stages of Grief?
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified that people experiencing grief go through five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Dysphoria, & Acceptance.
In our experience, individuals do not always experience these feelings in isolated stages, but instead feel all of these complex emotions at once. This is what makes processing grief so complicated. People can feel hopelessness, relief that the suffering is over, anger for what has taken place, and anxiety about how to live with the future.
What is the Difference Between Depression and Grief?
There are many overlapping symptoms between grief and depression such as intense sadness, difficulty concentrating, changes in motivation, sleep and appetite. Grief is typically preceded by loss while depression can develop at any time.
Many of our clients will ask us if they are depressed when, in fact, they are experiencing very normal symptoms of grief. In this video we talk about what normal grief looks like, what to expect and how to process through this experience in a healthy way.
How is Grief Treated?
It is important to remember that grief is a healthy reaction to the loss of someone that we love. While the sadness, tears, frustration, anger, and confusion may feel very uncomfortable and may not be emotions that one is used to, it still is very normal. In grief therapy, a therapist will help each individual process through the loss in a way that feels supportive, healthy and grounded.
Grief Therapy may focus on what has been loss and how the needs that person has met can be found in another way.
It may focus on processing through complicated parts of the relationship that will never have the opportunity to heal or change now that the loved one is gone. Or, it may focus on how to honor that life of the loved one and how to find new meaning in life that allows that person to live on in us or the world around us. Approaches to grief therapy will be as individualized as there is no “right” way to grieve. Grief will not last forever, and it’s important to know that you do not have to grieve alone.
When Should You Seek Grief Counseling?
There is no right or wrong time to seek grief counseling. Society tends to think that grief is a short-term experience, usually resolved within a few months. In reality, grief is often a process that can take years to work through.
The circumstances surrounding the loss of your loved one can make the experience briefer or more complex. Grief counseling can be very helpful throughout the process – no matter what the circumstances are.
How Our Tempe Grief Counselors Can Help
Our grief counselors feel honored to help people through their grief experience. Our therapists help people normalize their experience and find tools to help them process through the complex, painful experiences of grief. We’ve been seeing clients in the Tempe area for grief therapy since 2012. We apply professional expertise and understanding to provide the best holistic counseling services.
Meet our Team
DR. MELISSA ESTAVILLO, PsyD
Doctorate and Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, Arizona School of Professional Psychology
Practice Areas: Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Relationship / Marriage Counseling, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD / Trauma, Grief, Spiritual Integration, Medical Counseling
DR. AUDREY SESSIONS, PsyD
Psy.D. Clinical Psychology, Arizona School of Professional Psychology
M.A. Clinical Psychology, Arizona School of Professional Psychology
M.S. Mental Health Counseling, Walden University
Practice Areas: Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Emotional Regulation, LGBTQ+, Race-Based Stress, Military and Veteran-Related Issues, General Mental Health, Couples Counseling, Multicultural Diversity and Inclusion, Mindfulness
SUSAN SELF, LPC
M.S. Counseling and Human Services, University of Toledo
B.S. Psychology, Bowling Green State University
Practice Areas: Relationship / Marriage Counseling, Pre-marital Counseling, Parenting, General Counseling, Anxiety and Depression, Individual Therapy, Career Decisions, Caring for Aging Relatives, Life Changes, Work/Life Stressors
NICOLE ELLIOTT, LPC
M.C. Counseling, Arizona State University
B.A. English (Literature), Arizona State University
Practice Areas: Adjustment Disorders, Anxiety, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Cbt), Depression, Disability Counseling, Existential Therapy, Faith-Based Counseling, General Mental Health Counseling, Gerontological Counseling, Grief Counseling, Individual Counseling, Mindful Self-Compassion (Msc)
ELIZABETH FELIX, LPC
M.A. Human Resources and Substance Abuse, Ottawa University
M.A. Professional Counseling, Ottawa University
B.A. Psychology, Ottawa University
Practice Areas: Trauma, Anxiety, PTSD, Grief, Life Transitions, Women’s Focused Issues, LGBTQ+, Parenting, Depression, Couples Counseling, Family Counseling, Faith-based Counseling, General Mental Health Counseling
HEATHER WHEELER, LCSW
Masters in Social Work, Arizona State University
B.A. Psychology, Arizona State University
Specialties: Anxiety, CBT, Depression, Grief Counseling, Couples Counseling, LGBTQ+, Mindfulness, Family Counseling, General Mental Health Counseling, Women-Focused Issues/New Mothers Counseling, and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
Our Location Near Tempe, AZ
We’re here for you.
Our grief therapists apply professional expertise and understanding to provide the best holistic counseling services in Tempe, AZ.
A 10-min consultation can help you determine whether our services would be the right fit for you. Call us today for a free phone consultation.