Managing Caregiving and Grief
Philadelphia and Beyond
Who is a caregiver?
Those who…
Take care of young people to elders.
Take care of their own children.
Work in a helping or healing profession.
Anyone putting others needs before your own.
Coping with Grief?
All losses are difficult. From losing the most important people in our lives to the loss of ability to engage in life the way we used to.
No matter the type of loss, you are grieving. Your pain is real.
Sometimes we need a little extra support to manage it.
There have been seasons of joy and laughter in your life. Sometimes the stormy weather can hide that joy.
Soothing the storms.
Every hour, day, and week you show up and are there for your loved ones. Sometimes your elders,
sometimes your younger kin,
sometimes everyone, all at once.
And you are mentally and emotionally preparing yourself constantly to be that support for them. While also dealing with your own emotions and exhaustion, all at the same time.
You find yourself trying to soothe the storms of anger, grief, or irritation within you.
While trying to find ways to reconnect, laugh, and find balance.
It’s so hard. Hard to be on all the time.
I’m just going to say it - it really sucks.
And that’s an understatement.
The stress, grief, disconnect, and exhaustion are overwhelming at times (or all the time, let’s be real), and you feel lost in how to just feel better.
You never expected life to look like this, it’s hard to adjust.
If you’re learning to live with disability, the loss of what life used to be and your dreams for the future.
It can be hard to envision what life will look like
The losses that come with chronic illness can often make you feel invisible.
We will honor that pain and figure out how to move forward, getting back to who you are.
Or you’re learning to live without someone important.
The loss of this loved one comes with a whole bag of feelings, thoughts, confusion, and just feeling lost in it all.
And this bag is HEAVY.
It feels like life is just “moving on” and that hurts. But you don't “move on”, you carry your loved one with you.
At first, that 98lb backpack following you everywhere, is full of grief.
Let’s lighten that load.
WE can dig into that bag of grief, and tend to the pain, cry it out, and know you're not alone.
A slow realization that you’re carrying them with you, that heaviness is not just grief, but the love you shared. We can't fix the pain of losing someone you love, it's not a problem. It's a reality. You're different because of their loss and because of their love. In this next season of change you can learn to integrate their love and loss into your life.
You never wanted this. It's just hard.
You get to walk this new path at your own pace, but you don't have to walk alone. It’s ok to find sparks of joy again. To see them in yourself and your world. To smile, and then laugh, through the grief. We'll work together to find a path where you can be with the memory of your loved one and feel their love in your footsteps.
There is no right or wrong way to grieve.
Loss makes us feel like we’re moving through a fog.
There aren’t words to describe the loss of the person you love.
Having someone in your corner to listen, hear you, and to use a specialized approach
with art, nature, or EMDR therapies
to help you cope and heal through connection with the one you’ve lost.
And it’s ok, to not be ok.
You aren’t broken. This just, for lack of better words, really REALLY sucks.
I can walk right alongside you, with specialized approaches to do your own
processing around the difficulties in your life.
So you can find peace and joy again. And fully LIVE.
So what do sessions look like?
We get to chat and talk about what you are going through and everything you’re trying to balance on your plate.
AND we actually get to do something, create something, and experience something that taps into the deeper parts of you that are ready to release and find balance.
I can help guide you to reconnect with YOU,
…while also getting back your life again, in little and big ways.
A heads up: Where are in-nature and in-home sessions held?
In-nature and in-home Eco-Art and Art Therapy sessions are conducted in North West Philadelphia and Wissahickon Park, and within a 5 mile radius of both. Contact me if you live more than 5 miles outside of these areas. Virtual sessions can be held anywhere in Pennsylvania.
