Helping People With Grief
By Jon Terrell, M.A.

Grief is a painful feeling. We grieve because we've loved, and now have lost the one we've loved. Sometimes we grieve about other losses--of a job or dream we had for ourselves.

My work is about helping people work though their emotional pain to find joy again. We do this at our retreats and through our private counseling. This approach honors each emotion as a path to healing and awakening. Stuck feeling of whatever kind--such as anger, fear, shame, anxiety--offer us gifts.

As human beings we are here to grow, to become more whole and present, to love more deeply and freely. But at times we get stuck in our feelings, unable to move forward. This is especially true of grief.

There are several pages on this website focusing on different aspects of grief work. Some give suggestions to help people overwhelmed by their feelings. Others provide information about the grieving process. Almost all the pages refer to my retreat work as a way to help people move through pain and find joy.

In these pages, and throughout this website I often touch on the unfinished work of grieving our childhood pain. As a psychotherapist I find that the roots of current problems and pain are often found in old unfinished stories from childhood. While this can be difficult to recognize as a component of current loss, we often find that our present discomfort is compounded by old pain from the past.

For those people who are unable to attend a retreat I offer grief counseling via the telephone and Skype.

Here is a look at each page so you can find what you need:

Coping With Extreme Grief has some suggestions to help with emotional pain.

Handling Grief, Loss, Sadness And Pain is a short guide to how to deal with your feelings. Sometimes we hide from feelings because we are afraid of being overwhelmed by them.

Grief Stricken has other suggestions including taking care of yourself, trusting your own unique process and getting the right help.

Working Through Prolonged Grief includes activities that can be helpful for long term grief.

10 Things I've Learned About Grief has suggestion from my experience about the grieving process.

Kubler Ross Stages Of Grief page talks about her groundbreaking work that can help you make sense of all the feelings you may be.experiencing.

Grieving A Loss has more reflections on the grief process.

From The New York Times-Taking time to mourn a career transition

Pet Loss Page  I talk about the death and burial of my cat and how our retreat work can help people who have lost an animal friend.

Prolonged Grief is about meditation, stress management and some of the tools I use to help people.

Healing Divorce Grief is an interview with a participant at one of our retreats.

Grief and Loss Retreat page is all about the amazing healing journeys that we offer 3-5 times each year.

Shalom Retreat page is about our emotional wellness retreats that help people move through stuck feelings to find new joy.

Jon Terrell also offers long distance grief counseling using the telephone or Skype...see the link below.

Go from Grief to Home Page

Go to Working With Anger and Depression

Go to Fear, Anxiety and Change

Go to Long Distance Grief Counseling 

Photo Credit - Grief/Joy by Lee Hicks