Grief

Grief has no schedule. It can arrive all at once, return years later, or sit quietly under everything else. For some people it is complicated by distance: a parent who died in another country, a funeral you couldn't attend, a goodbye that never happened.

As a grief therapist, I offer bereavement counseling that makes room for the loss as you experience it, without rushing you toward closure.

What grief can feel like

• Waves of sadness, anger, guilt or numbness
• Replaying the last days, or what you wish you had said
• Feeling disconnected from people who didn't know the person
• Grief for a place, language or community you left behind
• Difficulty returning to work or daily routines
• Feeling that you should be over it by now

Who I work with

• Adults grieving a death, including from a distance
• People mourning a country, community or way of life
• Anyone whose grief hasn't had anywhere to go
• People facing the expected loss of someone they love
• Teens grieving a death or a move, with a parent or guardian involved

How we work together

Culturally responsive grief work that honors the rituals and beliefs you bring, with space to talk about the loss and to find a way to carry it.

We start with the loss itself: who or what you lost, what the relationship meant, and what has happened since.

Then we look at what makes this grief hard to carry, whether that is guilt, distance, unfinished conversations or a family that grieves differently than you do.

Over time, we work on carrying the loss alongside the rest of your life, keeping the connection to the person or place that matters to you.

Grieving across borders and traditions

Grief is shaped by culture: how people mourn, how long, and who is expected to be strong. When you live far from where you grew up, the rituals that would usually hold you may be missing, or happening without you.

I work with the beliefs and traditions you bring, and with grief for losses that are rarely named, like a homeland, a language or the life you pictured before you moved.

Online sessions across Illinois, in English or Albanian

Sessions are by secure video, so you can meet from home or anywhere private, as long as you are in Illinois at the time of the session. We can work in English or in Albanian, whichever feels more natural.

The first session

• Understanding what brought you to therapy
• Agreeing on what you want help with
• Talking through how we will work together

Fees and insurance

Sessions are $180 for 50 minutes. Most major insurance plans accepted. See fees and insurance for the details.

Questions people ask

See also: Anxiety, Depression, Trauma and PTSD, Life transitions, Acculturative stress.