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686,000 people sought help with Thriveworks in the last year

Discover how starting therapy with a grief & loss counseling can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.

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Laura Burlingame Lee

Hear from Laura Burlingame Lee, Psychologist (Psychologist)

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What is your go-to approach for grief & loss counseling?

My go-to approach in helping people in grief and loss counseling is verbal processing combined with CBT techniques to help create realistic and compassionate perspectives about loss. I also enjoy using metaphors, narrative techniques, and journaling, as well as therapeutic art because accessing extremely painful losses and the emotions around that loss can be difficult. Creative techniques allow the client to approach the material from a safer and sometimes more effective perspective.

What tools do you teach in grief & loss counseling?

I teach the following tools in grief and loss counseling: acceptance, healthy emotional expression, acknowledging the complex and complicated emotions that accompany grief and loss, understanding the grief process, and working to integrate the experience into the client's life in a meaningful way.

How do you know when a client is making meaningful progress in grief & loss counseling?

I see clients making meaningful progress when they begin moving out of behaviors defined by grief and loss and into a more integrated life where grief and other associated emotions are accompanied by moments of joy and appreciation of the loss and the life they still have.

What can clients do in their personal time to supplement grief & loss counseling?

Clients can supplement their time in grief and loss counseling with journaling; engaging in behavioral homework (which admittedly is difficult when you're hurting); and creating connections with their community (however they define it), the loss of the person or situation which triggered the grief, and their inner selves.

What should someone do to prepare for starting grief & loss counseling?

To prepare for their first grief and loss counseling session, a client can begin keeping track of the timeline for the loss and accompanying grief, their emotions, and in what ways the loss has impacted their lives. I hope clients understand that this counseling is not going to minimize their loss or help them “get over it” — we don't “get over” grief. Instead, we work with it until the edges are less raw and we learn to live in spite of it, as it becomes integrated with who we are.

Starting Grief & loss counseling

What type of counseling is needed when a person cannot get over the grief of losing a loved one?

Grief and loss counseling helps people grieve difficult losses including the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. It helps people navigate their grief process and eventually accept, understand, and move forward from their loss. Thriveworks grief therapists in Meridian, ID have specific experience, training, and skills that enable them to best support grieving individuals.

How does grief and loss counseling work?

Grief and loss counseling isn’t one-size-fits-all, but it involves sharing about your loss and then working with your counselor to acknowledge and accept your new reality in its wake. Your provider at Thriveworks in Meridian, ID will design your treatment plan around your unique needs and goals for therapy, applying the counseling techniques that best support them.

Signs I should seek grief counseling

If you have recently experienced an event like the death of a loved one, a breakup or divorce, the loss of a job, or another major life change, then you may want to seek grief and loss counseling. Grief can be caused by many experiences and events, so if you feel that you are having trouble moving on from a certain event or find that it is still impacting your life and functioning, grief and loss counseling can help you process it more effectively so that you can move on and once again find fulfillment and satisfaction in your life.

What counseling theory is best for grief?

There are many counseling theories for treating grief, one of the most frequently used being the dual process model of grief which helps people acknowledge who or what they’ve lost through rumination while also adjusting to the new roles and identities that this loss has now placed on them. There are also many commonly used therapy approaches used in grief and loss counseling, including Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and traumatic grief therapy.

Is grief counseling conducted in person or online?

Grief & loss counseling at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and online by video. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.

How long does grief counseling last?

For many, grief and loss counseling lasts for about 6 months. For others, it may last shorter or longer, depending on the severity of their loss and their grief.

Pricing & insurance

Our therapists accept most major insurances. We accept 585+ insurance plans, and offer self-pay options, too.
Learn more about pricing for therapy and counseling services at Thriveworks.

Our Meridian therapists and counselors accept 28 insurance plans

  • Aetna

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield | Anthem (Blue Card)

  • Blue Cross of Idaho | BCBS

  • BrightPath

  • BrightPath Medicare Advantage

  • Cigna | Evernorth

  • Cigna | Evernorth EAP

  • Cigna | Evernorth Medicare Advantage

  • Compsych

  • First Health Network

  • Humana Exchange

  • Humana HMO/POS

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Self-pay costs at Meridian
Talk therapy

Talk therapy

Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Talk therapy

Psychiatry

Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Hear from our clients

5.0 Thriveworks Meridian reviews are collected through Thriveworks.com.
★★★★★
I have been meeting with Matt for almost 2 years now, and he's helped me get in touch with myself and understand who I am, as well as provided great tools to apply to my life for future improvement and coping. I have benefited greatly from my regular meetings with Matt and I can't speak highly enough about him as a counselor and psychological mentor.
Read more I have been meeting with Matt for almost 2 years now, and he's helped me get in touch with myself and understand who I am, as well as provided great tools to apply to my life for future improvement and coping. I have benefited greatly from my regular meetings with Matt and I can't speak highly enough about him as a counselor and psychological mentor.
Meridian Jan 2022
Review left on Thriveworks.com

Where to find us

Getting here

Thriveworks Counseling & Therapy Meridian is located at 26 S Baltic Pl Suite 150, Meridian, ID 83642, off E. Franklin Rd.

Phone number

(208) 504-1377

Languages spoken by ID providers

  • English
Wednesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Thursday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Monday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Tuesday 8:00am - 9:00pm

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Wednesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Thursday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Friday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Saturday 7:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Monday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Tuesday 7:00am - 9:30pm

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