Grief Loss Journey

The Grief Loss Journey is a solo journey with guides along the way.

I began my journey to becoming an expert in grief, loss and trauma after my stepson, Logan died suddenly in a head-on train collision in the Midwest. My experience of compounded losses led me to work with Dr Jack Miller, a Jungian Psychologist through his program called the Phoenix Project. I explored the depths of loss and how they connected to earlier losses.

I learned that grief work is inner work. It requires being quiet and listening for guidance that comes from within or comes from others at just the right. I developed an interest in understanding what happens to people who have experienced traumatic events. I also developed a curiosity for the mysteries of life, like synchronicity and feelings of our loved one's presence after they transition.

I furthered my education and pursued a career in psychotherapy. Looking back it is easy to see my path to 'purpose and meaning' through psychology and creativity was being laid out for me through the losses I experienced. Of course, I would give back all that was gained to have my kids back. The grief loss journey is not a simple, straight line. It never is.

I became a licensed psychotherapist specializing in grief, loss and trauma. I was the Assistant Director of Mental Health at GMHC, a major HIV/AIDS organization in New York City. I maintained a private practice and was adjunct faculty at the School of Visual Arts MPS Masters Professional Studies Department in New York where I taught Graduate Level Multicultural Issues in Art Therapy.

In 2014, 20 years after Logan died my adult son Richard passed suddenly on an airplane while returning home to Southern California. We lived three blocks from each other. He was my only child.

Shocked and devastated, wondering how this could happen to the same person twice I again found myself on the grief loss journey. Again swimming in the deep waters of emotion the answer to my question ‘why me?’ shifted to ... ‘why not me?’

The journey of healing is a path inward as well as an outward search for support from others who understand. The journey of healing does not have a set destination. The grief journey has no GPS. It is a journey of becoming through the complexities of emotional distress, opening to a deeper experience of life.

My work from a mental illness focus to emotional wellness after Richard passed. Grief is a natural part of life. Those going through major life-changing events for the most part are not broken, even though they may feel that way.

In 2018 I was invited to be Keynote Speaker at The Compassionate Friends National Conference where I was also on the Board of Directors of the Nominations Committee. I have also presented many times at the National Conference for the AATA The American Art Therapy Association.

I am a Certified Grief Educator with David Kessler. I am a CPQC | Certified Positive Intelligence Coach.

My volunteer work started about a year after Richard passed, when I founded the Newport Beach Chapter of the Compassionate Friends for parents who have lost a child. I am also cofounder of Humanitarian PQ Coaches which provides coaching support with Positive Intelligence to those helping others in Ukraine and other parts of the world.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse