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Embodied Support for Grief & End of Life
Grief is the universal trauma: all of us will someday face death, and all of us will experience the loss of a significant person.
Everyone grieves differently.
Working with grief requires grappling with complex existential and spiritual questions.
Grief moves on its own timeline and closure is not always possible.
Yet it is necessary to find ways to move forward and continue living.
Historically, caring for the bereaved fell within the role of religious leaders and community elders. In the modern era, many find themselves struggling and unsure where to find support.
Fortunately there are skills, attitudes, and practices that can help those moving through grief to find their center. In my work I aim to provide care that is spiritual and informed by a deep understanding of mental health and grief psychology.
I integrate evidence-based coping techniques, Reiki, meditation, and somatic practices to support individuals and families in embodied grieving.
What is Embodied Grieving?
Grief effects the mind and the heart, but grief is also held in the body. Frequently the bereaved and those anticipating the death of a significant person report changes to their physical experience. This may include fatigue, “heaviness,” altered sleep patterns, agitation or feeling “wired,” and changes to appetite. Those who are ill also experience physical changes that can be intrusive and challenging.
Emotional processing and talking with someone can help to alleviate physical difficulties, but often this is not enough. When we work directly with the body, including mindful breathing, somatic energy awareness and energetic release practices, and Reiki, we can address these challenges at the root.
An additional benefit of an embodied approach to grief is that sometimes, especially in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic death or illness, processing the details of a loss can actually increase the more disruptive emotional and physical responses. Finding the balance between fixating on distress and avoiding our emotions can be a tricky endeavor, but working with experience of the body allows us to feel held in our pain without having to translate a complex emotional experience into words.
Combined with creative practices, therapeutic letter writing, and personalized ritual, embodied grief practices can deepen our sense connection to others and even become an expression of love.
Why Reiki?
Reiki is as an excellent from of pain management, offered on most oncology and palliative care units
Reiki is spiritual but non-religious, facilitating a meditative experience that is compatible with a wide range of belief systems
Reiki offers an expansive approach to understanding energy, helping us cope with the existential questions that surround death
Reiki is a form of energy practice that can be utilized directly to support and comfort those at the precipice of transition from life
Reiki assists the bereaved in processing their ongoing relationship and emotional ties to those who have died
Virtual & In-home Care
Bedside and in-home care is an accessible way to provide spiritual and energetic support to those who are ill. Whether moving through a longer illness with unknown outcome or a terminal prognosis, providing care in the home or bedside environment allows for direct application of therapeutic modalities in a comfortable setting.
Family members may participate if desired and dialogue can be facilitated. Reiki can also be offered over distance, which means that for those who have immune-related concerns or logistical difficulties with in-person work, virtual sessions can be equally effective.
For those who are grieving, virtual sessions allow a maximum of flexibility and affordability to find support.
How to begin, cost, and other details
The grieving process may be ongoing, but grief support is intended to be short-term and purposeful. The aim is to help you develop the skills, practices, and wisdom needed to continue the process with the support of your beloveds.
Sometimes grief intersects with other emotional challenges and benefits from more intensive care. If grief counseling is needed (psychotherapy) we can discuss arrangements to continue that work or to make a referral to another professional.
Reiki is completely non-denominational. The approach can be adjusted to accommodate the spiritual beliefs of the family members and friends involved in our work. Meetings can be one-on-one, or include couples and families (including children).
In most cases we begin with a video call to discuss what may be needed and decide if we are a good fit. Then we will determine a structure for future meetings. End of life care is offered by donation and grief support is sliding scale.
More about my professional background
In addition to trauma treatment, I identified grief support as a desired area of additional training from my first year of graduate school. I joined an internship offering Art Therapy at a therapeutic bereavement camp for children called Camp Good Grief, developed by East End Hospice. This included comprehensive training with psychotherapists nurses, and other volunteers. I returned as an intern and extern for two more summers, and in 2014 I joined the team as a supervisor coordinator for the next eight years. During that time I also worked as the senior clinician with A Caring Hand, a research-based family bereavement program where I facilitated groups for all ages and interviewed hundreds of families. I have lectured on grief-focused therapy at New York University and provided training at leading agencies in the NYC metro area.
I continue to work with grieving adults in my private psychotherapy practice.
When I learned in Reiki training that this energy practice could be used to assist those who were dying, I knew I wanted to integrate it into my work. Since then I have offered holistic support to many individuals who were grieving traumatic deaths and coping with long-term illness. During the Covid-19 pandemic many of my virtual Reiki groups became de-facto grief groups. By this time I was a Reiki Master teacher and increasingly incorporating exploration of death and dying into my own meditations. I have privately offered this support to those who have asked, but increasingly felt called to make it more widely available in order to better serve my community.