GRIEF AND LOSS COUNSELING
IN LOS ANGELES
There is no right way to grieve, and no schedule you are behind on
Grief is not a problem to be solved. It is love with nowhere to go, and it moves through people in ways that rarely match what anyone expects — including you. Some days it is quiet. Some days it arrives in the grocery store aisle without warning. There is nothing wrong with you for grieving longer, harder, or differently than the people around you seem to.
At Playa Vista Counseling, we walk alongside adults and teens in Los Angeles who are carrying a loss, whether it happened last month or fifteen years ago.
The losses we support clients through
Grief follows many kinds of loss, and all of them are valid:
Death of a partner, parent, child, sibling, or friend
Miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss
Sudden, traumatic, or violent loss
Death by suicide or overdose
Loss of a pet
Divorce or the end of a significant relationship
Loss of health, mobility, or independence following a diagnosis
Loss of a home or community, including after the Los Angeles wildfires
Anticipatory grief while caring for someone who is dying
Estrangement, or grieving someone who is still alive
When grief becomes something heavier
Grief is a natural process, not a disorder. But sometimes it becomes complicated — when it stays acute for a long stretch, when it is tangled up with trauma or guilt, or when it hardens into depression. Signs worth paying attention to include difficulty functioning months later, intense guilt or self-blame, avoiding all reminders of the person, feeling stuck in disbelief, or losing interest in your own life.
Our approach to grief counseling
We do not try to move you through stages or hurry you toward acceptance. Our work is about giving your grief a place to exist and be witnessed, while helping you carry it in a way that lets you keep living.
Depending on what you need, we may draw on grief-focused talk therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS) work with the parts of you holding guilt or anger, and EMDR when the loss was traumatic or the memories themselves are distressing. For many clients, simply having a space where they do not have to protect anyone else’s feelings is the most valuable part.
You do not have to be “over it” to feel better
The goal is not to stop missing them. It is to reach a place where the love is more present than the pain, where memories bring warmth as often as they bring grief, and where your own life feels livable again.
We offer grief counseling in Los Angeles and virtual sessions throughout California, with evening and weekend availability.
Frequently Asked Questions
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If your grief is making it hard to function, feels stuck, or is tangled up with guilt, trauma, or depression, support can help. You also don't need to be struggling in a dramatic way to come — many people simply want a space where they can talk about their person without managing anyone else's reaction.
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There's no set timeline, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. Grief tends to change shape rather than disappear, becoming less constant over time. If it stays acute and disabling for many months, that's worth exploring together.
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Completely. Grief includes anger, relief, guilt, numbness, and even moments of humor — often within the same hour. Relief after a long illness or a complicated relationship is especially common and doesn't mean you loved them less.
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Yes. Old grief that was never fully processed — often because life demanded you keep going — can resurface later or quietly shape how you live. It's never too late to tend to it.
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Yes. We provide compassionate care for miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss, and we integrate trauma-informed approaches like EMDR when helpful. Your grief is real and valid, whatever anyone else understood about your loss.
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Individual sessions are $150 for 50 minutes. We're an out-of-network provider and can provide a superbill for possible reimbursement through your PPO plan. We're happy to talk through options on a free introductory call.