When my oldest was a freshman in high school, he suffered a trauma at the hands of a close friend and as a result was diagnosed with PTSD. This event had a significantly negative impact on our son and our family as we fought for him to stay with us here on earth and he worked to begin healing from all the losses he had experienced. These losses included loss of trust, loss of safety, loss of friends and support. Years after this event, I found myself unable to fully move on as I was so angry. I didn't realize it at the time but I was experiencing grief over the loss of what I thought life should have been like for our son and family and felt very much robbed of that time. Even though I had processed my feelings in therapy, I was still experiencing anger and sadness that I started to believe would be with me forever.

While working with parents as a coach for parents of teens, I quickly realized how much grief was showing up for many of them. Many of them were struggling with the loss of unmet expectations and dreams for their children. I could very well relate to the grief these parents were feeling as my own family have battled not only trauma and PTSD but also walked the journey of substance use, mental health challenges and ADHD.

I had previously worked prior to staying home with my children, as a Clinical Social Worker, working in the space of children and family grief and trauma counseling and found that I was being called back to that work. Additionally, as I was helping these parents navigate their challenges, it started to shine a spotlight for me on my unresolved feelings of grief. I knew that if I wanted to help others navigate their grief, that I owed it to them and myself to acknowledge and work through mine.

This is what led me to the Grief Recovery Method. I completed the work related to my feelings of loss related to my son's trauma with a Grief Recovery Specialist through a GRM group program and after that completed the training to become a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist. The Grief Recovery Method gave me the peace that I had been searching for. I was able to complete the painful relationship I had with the individual who had caused our pain. I was able to acknowledge and be validated in the losses I had experienced as a result of my son's trauma. I was able to focus on the close relationship that was created with my son, through our connection during the difficult times, and to feel gratitude that I was the person who could be there for him in his darkest days. I started to feel true joy again.

I chose the Grief Recovery Method to work on my own healing and to become certified in, because of the time tested, step specific action- oriented approach to helping someone move through the pain and unresolved feelings. The Grief Recovery Method validates the losses and acknowledges that sadness will be present but that it is possible to live without the pain that has you stuck, and to reclaim your joy. It was also the first program that I found that highlighted and validated that loss doesn't always occur as a result of death. Feelings of loss can occur anytime someone has unmet hopes, dreams or expectations and there is undelivered emotional communication surrounding the things they wish were different.

I provide Grief Recovery in the Pittsburgh area (located in the South Hills) and on-line for adults and teens. I also hold Grief Recovery Groups throughout the year including Pet Loss Groups as well as Helping Children with Loss (HCWL). I am also available to provide presentations on topics related to grief, including helping children with loss, to schools and other community organizations.

A little more about me: Wife and Mom of three teens ages 14,16 and 19. Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator and Trained Coach for Parents of Teens. I hold a Master's Degree in Social Work and have over a decade of prior experience providing grief and trauma counseling to individuals and families in the areas of child loss and adolescent bereavement, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, 9/11 Pentagon attack survivors and families, victims of crime and emergency medicine.