Therapy for Grief and Loss in Chicago
Therapy for Grief and Loss in Chicago
Therapist for Grief in Chicago
The funeral is over. People have stopped asking. You have gone back to work and you are managing, mostly, until something small takes the ground out from under you. Grief does not move in the tidy stages you were promised, and it does not run on anyone else’s timeline.
Waves that come from nowhereGuiltAnger you did not expectTrouble sleepingFeeling alone in itNot knowing who you are now
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How we treat it
Grief is not a problem to be solved,
so we do not treat it like one
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Starts from what happened to you rather than what is wrong with you, and paces the work so nothing moves faster than you can hold.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Looks at the relationship itself, all of it, because what you are grieving is rarely simple and rarely only love.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Works with what grief does to your body, and gives you somewhere to stand when a wave arrives.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Makes room for the grief rather than fighting it, and helps you carry it while still moving toward a life that means something.
Group support
Through the Waves
A guided six-week grief and loss group for adults, run by a MARRA therapist.
Some people want the room to themselves. Others find that sitting with people who understand does something individual therapy cannot. You can do either, or both, and we will help you work out which. It is not the right fit for everyone, and if individual therapy would serve you better right now, we will tell you.
Read about the groupNot sure
Is this grief, or depression?
Nine questions, about two minutes. It uses the PHQ-9, the same short screening tool clinicians use. You will get a score and a few things worth reading next. No email needed.
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Expertly matched
therapy, for life
Tell us what is going on. Our Clinical Coordinator connects with you personally and works to match you with the right therapist.
Start hereLicensed therapists
LSW, LCSW, LPC, LCPC and PsyD clinicians.
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A free consult first
So you can tell whether it is right before committing to anything.
What happens next
Getting started
A free consultation. We believe in the power of the therapeutic relationship, and that starts with working with someone who gets you. The consultation is how you find out.
Getting scheduled. We aim to book you within 24 hours of reaching out, and most people are seen that week.
Your first session. You bring what is on your mind. Your therapist takes some history and you set goals together. Your therapist paces it with you.
In-network with
Coverage varies from therapist to therapist.
FAQs
Questions about therapy for grief
How long is grief supposed to last?
There is no supposed to. That is the honest answer, and most of the pressure people feel comes from believing there is a schedule. Grief tends to change shape rather than end. What we can help with is how much of it you are carrying alone, and whether it is running your life rather than living alongside it.
Is it normal to feel angry? Or relieved?
Yes, both. Relief is one of the most common feelings after a death and one of the least talked about, especially after a long illness or a complicated relationship. It does not mean you loved them less. Bringing it into a room where nobody flinches is often the most useful hour of the week.
My loss was years ago. Is it too late to come?
No. Grief that was never given anywhere to go does not fade, it just gets quieter and more portable. Plenty of people come in years later, often when something else opens it back up.
It was not a person. Does that count?
Yes. A pet, a pregnancy, a marriage, your health, a version of the future you were counting on. Loss is loss, and the fact that other people do not treat it as real is often part of what makes it heavy.
Should I do the group or individual therapy?
It depends on what is hard. If the loneliness of it is the worst part, the group tends to help more than people expect. If what you are carrying is complicated, or private, or tangled up with the relationship itself, individual therapy gives you room for that. Some people do both. Tell us what is going on and we will be honest about which we would start with.
I do not want to cry in front of a stranger.
Most people say some version of this. You are allowed to sit there and not cry. Your therapist is not there to open you up faster than you want, and setting the pace is genuinely part of the work.
Am I grieving wrong if I am functioning fine?
No. Functioning is not the same as being finished, and a lot of people arrive here precisely because everything looks fine from the outside and does not feel that way from the inside.
What is grief therapy?
A space built specifically for loss, rather than general talk therapy that grief gets folded into. Your therapist treats mourning as its own process, not a symptom to manage, and helps you make sense of who you are on the other side of it.
How can therapy help with grief?
It gives you somewhere to put what you are carrying that does not ask you to perform being okay. Your therapist helps you understand what you are feeling, work through what is unfinished with the person you lost, and figure out how to keep living a life that includes this loss instead of pretending it does not exist.
Can I bring a loved one to a session?
Yes, from time to time, if it would help. Some people bring a partner, sibling, or close friend in when it would help that person understand what they are going through, or when they can be a resource as part of the work. Your therapist will help you figure out if and when that makes sense.
What if I do not know what I need yet?
That is normal, and you do not need to know before reaching out. The free consultation is there so you and a real person can figure it out together, not so you arrive with the answer already.
How long do sessions last?
Fifty five minutes, usually weekly to begin with.
What should I bring to my first session?
Nothing. Your therapist takes it from wherever you are that day.
Is what I share in therapy confidential?
Yes, with the narrow legal exceptions every clinician is bound by, which your therapist will walk you through in your first session.
Do you accept insurance?
Our whole team is in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO plans. Some of our clinicians are also paneled with United Healthcare, Cigna and Aetna. Coverage varies from therapist to therapist, and we check yours before you commit to anything. The group is billed separately and is not run through insurance.