LGBTQ+ Grief Therapy in San Diego & California
You don’t have to experience grief and loss alone. Grief therapy can help you begin to process your loss.
Whether your loss is the end of an a/romantic, platonic, and/or sexual relationship, or the loss of the health or life of someone special to you, we can assist you in beginning to slowly heal from these painful experiences.
Why Individuals Come to Grief Therapy
People come into grief therapy for many different reasons.
Many people come in when their grief is becoming overwhelming or they feel as though their friends are sick of hearing about their pain or just don’t get why it hurts so much.
In the USA, often people are given a day or two off from work to be at a funeral or otherwise grieve. That’s not nearly enough time to grieve. And often the bereavement leave is only for a certain status or role of a loved one, like a parent, not necessarily for the death of a paramour or the ending of a relationship.
Many times, in the media and at home, men are called weak, when they express sadness or other emotions than anger even when there is a loss or a death in their lives.
COVID-19's Profound Impact on Grief and Loss
With the pandemic restrictions easing, many are trying to reconcile how to live in the so-called post-pandemic world, especially those who have chronic illnesses who feel vulnerable to illness in general, let alone, getting COVID.
For many people, COVID brought grief up close and personal, with the deaths of chosen and blood families. For others, COVID wreaked emotional havoc on families as some believed that COVID existed and caused destruction and others, did not. Many LGBTQ+ people also linked the loss of loved ones to AIDS to the COVID pandemic, bringing up horrific memories of days gone by.
Inclusive Grief Support at Waves: A Safe Space for Authentic Healing
At Waves, people of all genders (or none at all) are welcome to express their actual, authentic, like-for-real feelings, even when it's hard to do or punished by society.
We know it's not always easy to heal from the death of someone near and dear to us. It’s also wicked painful to imagine life without our loved ones, from grandparents to the death of a music star whose influence deeply impacted us and how we move in the world.
Losing a relationship is hard…
We at Waves feel strongly that there is no one quick fix to heal a broken heart. Whether you are the one who ended the relationship or the other person/people were, it can be so painful to break up with someone you love or even get used to having in your life.
We are easy-to-talk-to experts in helping you grieve your heartbreak while supporting you in discovering how to better understand what went wrong in your relationship(s) and how to make it better for the future.
We’re not going anywhere…
At Waves, we know that the United States society often thinks that loss and grief are something that one can recover from quickly.
We don’t shy away from difficult topics. We strongly believe that it is important to talk about death, illness, breakups, and the love, fear, sadness, and all that goes with these topics.
We know what it’s like to suffer from heartbreak, be it watching loved ones begin to be more and more forgetful, or witnessing love between people go from partner/partner(s) to caregiver and partner(s).
Waves’ Approach to LGBTQ+ Grief Therapy
We are here to support those dying and those who love them.
We are culturally humble. We will not assume we know how you grieve without asking. We will ask how you were taught about death and dying and what customs and beliefs you hold true. We will do our homework, meaning that once we learn what you hold dear, we will research death practices in your culture(s) and religion(s) or lack of them and check in with you about our findings.
We will not belittle your relationships and your sorrow. We will believe that the ending of one or many of your platonic, sexual, or romantic relationships can hurt and we will be there with you helping you grieve these losses in your own time.
We have special sensitivity to those:
dealing with end-of-life concerns including caregiving of parents
Sudden losses including death from suicide and child loss
grieving a miscarriage
experiencing a loss of health with the approach of chronic illness or dis/ability; and
in hospice, with those who are noticing regrets or want to have difficult conversations about what happens with their partner(s) after they die.
Our Grief Therapists at Waves Psych
Each psychotherapist at Waves has had multiple trainings and experience in working with loss and grief.
Camilla Williams, Ph.D.
Camilla Williams, Ph.D. (she, her, hers) witnesses complicated feelings about death and loss with ease. She speaks about how her joy in life allows room to talk about the pain and confusion that death can spark. She is the person to come to when feelings are all mixed up. Her specialty in grief and loss is finely tuned from years of clinical practice.
Abi Weissman, Psy.D.
Abi Weissman, Psy.D. (they/she) utilizes Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy to help clients mourn. Abi, helps clients feel their feelings through practicing being in tune with their emotional and bodily selves. Abi also has a story of working with survivors of traumatic loss, older adults at skilled nursing facilities, children losing their parents, traumatic birthing experiences, and loss within Jewish communities.
Ready to Start Grief Therapy in San Diego, CA?
Are you feeling overwhelmed by grief and struggling to cope? Find solace and healing through our specialized grief therapy at Waves. Our compassionate grief therapists are here to guide you on a path toward emotional recovery and help you navigate the journey through grief. Take the first step towards healing; you don't have to face this journey alone. Follow these three simple steps to get started:
Begin meeting with one of our caring grief therapists
Begin coping with your grief in healthy ways to begin your healing journey!
Other Services Offered at Waves
At Waves Psych, we want to help you however we can. So, in addition to grief therapy, our team of therapists offers EMDR Therapy, Yoga Therapy, Couples and Chosen Family Therapy, Therapy for ADHD, Therapy for Students, Transgender Support, Kink and BDSM Affirming Therapy, and more! Be sure to check out our FAQs and Blog for more about us and our services!
