Understanding Grief & Loss
Compassionate support for heavy seasons, loss, and the grief that follows life's changes.
Understanding Grief and Loss
Grief isn't just about death. It's about any significant loss that changes your life — the end of a relationship, a miscarriage, losing a job, the death of a pet, or saying goodbye to someone you love. And here's the thing: grief doesn't follow a timeline.
Statistics show that 1 in 5 children experience the death of someone close before age 18, and countless adults navigate profound losses throughout their lives. Whether your loss happened yesterday or years ago, if you're still struggling, that's okay. Healing is a process, not a destination.
How Grief Shows Up
Emotional Symptoms
- Overwhelming sadness
- Anger or irritability
- Guilt and blame
- Numbness or feeling disconnected
- Anxiety about the future
Physical Symptoms
- Exhaustion and fatigue
- Sleep disturbances
- Changes in appetite
- Physical aches and pains
- Weakened immune system
Mental Symptoms
- Difficulty concentrating
- Confusion or forgetfulness
- Intrusive thoughts
- Feeling stuck or hopeless
- Loss of meaning or purpose
Social Symptoms
- Isolation from loved ones
- Withdrawing from activities
- Feeling misunderstood
- Relationship strain
- Difficulty asking for help
Maybe You're Feeling...
"I feel like I'm drowning and no one understands." Everyone keeps telling you to be strong, to move on, to focus on the positive. But you're not ready. You're still in the thick of it, and the pain feels unbearable.
"It's been so long by now." It's been months — maybe even years — and you're frustrated with yourself for not "getting better" faster. You're almost still grieving, almost ashamed that the grief lasts.
"I'm angry, sad, numb, and guilty all at once." Your emotions are all over the place. One minute you're crying, the next you feel nothing. You don't know which feeling to deal with first or if you're even allowed to feel this way.
"Everyone's moved on but I'm still stuck here." Life continues around you, but you feel frozen in time. How is everyone else okay when your world has completely shattered?
If any of this resonates, you're not alone. And more importantly — you don't have to stay stuck here.
Your Path to Healing: How Grief Therapy Works
Grief counseling isn't about "getting over it" or forgetting. It's about learning to carry your loss in a way that doesn't break you. Here's how we help.
Schedule Your First Session
We start with a free 15-minute consultation to understand what you're going through. Then, in your first full session, we create a safe, judgment-free space where you can express exactly what you're feeling — without pressure to "be okay."
Process Your Emotions
Through evidence-based psychotherapy techniques, we'll explore your grief at your own pace. We help you reduce feelings of guilt and blame, understand your emotions, and develop healthy coping strategies that actually work for your life.
Rebuild Your Life
As you heal, we'll help you reconnect with joy, find meaning again, and move forward — without feeling like you're leaving your loved one or your past behind. You'll learn to honor your grief while still choosing to live fully.
What Becomes Possible After Grief Therapy
When you work with our licensed grief therapists in Long Beach, here's what becomes possible:
Grief Therapy Serving Long Beach and Surrounding Communities
Rose Hanna Counseling Services provides compassionate bereavement counseling to individuals, couples, and families throughout Long Beach, Signal Hill, Seal Beach, Lakewood, Bellflower, Downey, and surrounding Southern California communities.
Our team of licensed therapists (LMFT, MFT) with specialization in helping Long Beach residents navigate grief from death, relationship loss, pregnancy loss, pet loss, job loss, and life transitions. We offer both in-person and telehealth appointments to fit your needs.
Types of loss we help with:
- Death of a loved one (sudden death, anticipated loss, suicide loss)
- Divorce, separation, or breakup
- Miscarriage, stillbirth, or pregnancy loss
- Loss of a pet
- Job loss or career changes
- Loss of health or physical abilities
- Loss of identity or life transitions
What Happens If You Don't Get Support?
We know reaching out for help isn't easy. But here's what we see happen when grief goes unaddressed:
- Grief turns into chronic depression or anxiety
- Relationships suffer as isolation, irritability, and emotional numbness take over
- Physical health declines — sleep problems, weakened immune system, chronic pain
- You lose yourself in the pain and forget who you were before the loss
- Years pass and you realize you've been surviving, not living
- Unresolved grief spills into every area of life — work, parenting, friendships, self-worth
You deserve more than just surviving. You deserve to heal.
Meet the Therapists
Our team members who specialize in this area.
Dr. Hanna is an interactive, insight-oriented individual and couples therapist with over 20 years of experience, specializing in postpartum depression, relationship counseling, parenting, depression, and anxiety.
Virginia creates a safe, warm environment where clients feel truly heard. She specializes in depression, anxiety, OCD, grief, and exposure-based therapies, with a collaborative approach focused on meaningful, lasting change.
Margita is passionate about helping individuals, children, and couples find deeper self-understanding and personal growth. She takes a compassionate, collaborative approach to help clients reach their authentic goals.
Socorro brings over 10 years of therapeutic experience with adults, couples, children, and families. She uses a client-centered collaborative approach drawing on CBT, trauma-focused therapy, and attachment-based modalities.
Brittlin has experience with a wide range of ages, populations, and diagnoses. She is dedicated to creating a safe, supportive environment where clients can work toward positive change through a collaborative therapeutic process.
Esthela brings a personalized, trauma-informed approach and over 25 years in communications. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she specializes in anxiety, depression, and family counseling for Long Beach's diverse community.
Nicole believes that reaching out for support is one of the most courageous things you can do. She offers personalized, judgment-free therapy to adults, elderly individuals, and couples navigating anxiety, depression, grief, and life transitions.
Ready to begin?
Take the first step toward healing and growth. Request an appointment today.