Counseling & Coaching
Infertility is often experienced as a crisis, and women tend to carry more of its physical and emotional burden. Some coping strategies are more compatible with fertility treatment and infertility depression than others. Though psychologists usually discourage avoidant and escapist strategies, active distraction can reduce stress. More people benefit from…
As we age, studies show that we tend to lose touch with our friends and often struggle to form new friendships in their wake. Big life events like marriage, children, or moving can disrupt our connections to our friends. When it comes to ranking the importance of our social connections,…
Click here to schedule online counseling at Thriveworks. Hi, I’m Greg Handel, I’m a psychologist at both Thriveworks Franklin and Thriveworks Amherst in Massachusetts. And the question that I have is, “How long does it take to grieve the loss of a loved one?” And this is a question I…
On Monday, April 15, the Notre Dame Cathedral—a staple of Paris—caught fire and collapsed, leaving many to grapple with difficult feelings that come with grief and loss. While some think of grief as a consequence of death, the reality is that we can experience grief after losing anything of importance….
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is hard at any age—but it can be especially confusing and difficult for kids. They’re still growing, developing, and learning about the world around them, and being confronted with a traumatic event like this can be particularly challenging. Therefore, it’s important you…
We define and we dissect the grieving process: first, the grieving individual will experience denial, followed by anger; then bargaining and a bout of depression; and lastly, acceptance. Once they’ve progressed through these five stages they’ll be A-Okay, good to go—right? Wrong. Grief can’t be so simply defined or explained…
When a pet dies, it is a loss that feels just as big and real as losing a friend or family member-sometimes it is bigger and more real. Pets and animals give us a type of love that humans usually don’t. When a dog follows us around, and waits on…
There are five stages of grief, and people across the globe experience them. It doesn’t matter what race, religion, country or the economic status of an individual—we all grieve for a person and the relationship shared with them. Sometimes a person feels grief over the loss of a dearly beloved…
Whether you are Hillary supporter or just an “anti-Trumpite” you are probably reeling from the results of the election. Waking up to see that the candidate you vehemently opposed actually won was probably shocking and upsetting. You may have been in utter disbelief. Maybe you thought there were still more…
During the holiday season, we think of family traditions, making memories, and spending time with loved ones. However, the holiday season can cause feelings of grief to become much more intense. The loss of a loved one can make even the most joyful celebrations difficult to bear, no matter how…
I have lost a friend today. And now where there used to be love, and friendship, and laughter, and tears, and joy… there is now a big empty hole. What the #($%*&$# do I do now? I feel lost, hopeless, helpless, scared, sad and lonely. What do I do? The…
Understanding Grief & Loss in Adoption; Are You Feeling… Loss, Frustrated, Anxious , Sad, Angry, Jealousy, Denial, Shame, Relationship Stress, Lack of Control? The experience of adoption is often bitter sweet. Adoption can be a new baby for the adoptive parents, a new family for the adoptee and the solution…