Therapy for Grief, Loss, and Caregiving Support
Navigating Caregiving, Grief, and Loss: Therapy for Adult Children
Grief is heavy - whether you’re mourning the passing of someone you love or feeling the slow painful goodbye of someone who is still here but changed.
The emotions can feel disorienting, isolating, and impossible to untangle.
I help adult daughters navigate the complexities of caregiving, so they can process their pain, find emotional balance, and reconnect with themselves and the life they want to build - without feeling like they will fall completely apart in the process.
Feeling stuck between mourning the past and managing the weight of the present?
Focus on Two Types of Grief: Ambiguous Loss & Bereavement
The anguish of watching someone you love slowly slip away can be one of the most painful experiences. When your parent is physically present but no longer the person you once knew, it can feel like a slow, ongoing goodbye. This is known as ambiguous loss—grieving someone who is still here but has fundamentally changed.
At the same time, the pain of losing a parent can bring an entirely different type of grief. Whether your relationship was close or strained, the loss can leave you feeling unmoored, struggling to figure out who you are without them. This is where therapy comes in to provide guidance, support, and a safe space to explore your emotions.
Which one of these fits for you?
Caring and Grieving at the Same Time:
The Complex Emotions of Grieving Someone Who's Still Here
When someone you love is still physically present but has changed—whether from dementia or illness—it can feel like you are losing them piece by piece.
You might be grieving the person they once were, all while taking on the responsibilities of caring for someone who now feels unfamiliar.
Does this sound familiar?
❥ Coping with Grief and Feeling Misunderstood in Caregiving
It’s hard to explain your grief when your loved one is still here but feels so far away.
Others don’t seem to understand the heartbreak of watching someone you love change so suddenly, especially because many of your peers haven’t had to face something like this yet.
❥ Managing Caregiver Guilt and Balancing Your Needs
You feel guilty for wanting your own life back—and even guiltier for feeling resentful.
Balancing your own needs with caregiving feels impossible, and you’ve grown used to putting yourself last even as your family and friends may be feeling resentful that you aren’t spending enough time with them. It doesn't feel like you have a choice.
❥ Resentment, Grief, and Emotional Wounds in Caregiving
Old wounds you thought were long buried resurface when caring for your parent.
The mix of resentment and grief feels like too much to carry, but there’s no time to process it. And you are afraid that if you do, you will shut down and all the work you’ve done up until this point will come undone.
❥ Navigating Changing Parent-Child Dynamics in Caregiving
Becoming the caregiver to the person who once cared for you feels like stepping into a role you never asked for.
The emotional shift is overwhelming, leaving you unsure how to navigate this new relationship.
❥ Coping with Grief and Isolation as a Caregiver
It’s hard to share your pain when others downplay or deny your loved one’s condition.
Even when surrounded by people, the emotional weight of caregiving can feel profoundly lonely.
When They're Gone:
The Pain of Grieving a Loved One
The loss of a parent leaves a hole that is hard to describe.
Whether your relationship was loving, complicated, or somewhere in between, their absence can feel like losing a part of yourself.
❥ Coping with Loneliness After Loss
You may find yourself reaching for the phone to call them or seek their advice, only to feel the ache of their absence.
Even if you’re surrounded by friends and loved ones, it can feel like no one truly understands you—like your parent did.
❥ Unprocessed Grief and Moving Forward After Loss
Grief can feel raw and overwhelming, even when you think you ‘should’ be in a different place by now.
Others might expect you to have moved on. They no longer check-in or fail to acknowledge significant dates related to your loved one.
❥ Breaking Free from the Blame Loop in Grief
You replay painful events in your mind, hearing that familiar, critical voice: ‘You could have done more’ or ‘Why didn’t you try harder?’
This cycle of self-blame keeps the grief fresh and makes it harder to find peace.
How Therapy Helps You Navigate Ambiguous Loss and Bereavement
Grief doesn’t follow a straight line - its messy, confusing, and deeply personal. In our work together, you’ll find a safe space to explore your emotions, process the complexity of your loss, and begin to rebuild at your own pace.
Together, we’ll work on:
❥ Processing Complicated Emotions in Grief:
Your grief deserves space to be felt and heard, whether it's sadness, anger, guilt, or all of the above.
We will address past wounds and complicated emotions, helping you make sense of what feels unmanageable.
❥ Tools to Weather the Storms of Grief:
Grief comes in waves, and it’s normal to feel both lost on some days and steady on other. I’ll help you develop practical tools to navigate these storms, so you can process your grief without feeling like you are drowning in them.
❥ Reclaiming a Sense of Belonging After Loss:
Grief can be deeply isolating, especially when others don’t know how to support you. This may be especially true when you have felt betrayed from being left to balance all the stacking responsibilities on your own when you desperately needed support in carrying the load. We’ll work on rebuilding trust in others to support you in your time of need to address the loneliness you feel.
❥ Holding On While Moving Forward:
It is possible to honor your loved one’s memory while rediscovering who you are and what matters to you. Whether your relationship with your loved one is evolving with their decline in health, or you're learning how to live without them, it is important to you that you still find ways to remain connected to them in this phase of the journey. At the same time, you are rediscovering who you are after this loss including your sense of purpose and belonging in the world. We will do all this, without feeling pressured to go at anyone else’s pace but your own.
A Path Forward With Love & Memory
Imagine waking up one day and feeling less weighed down by the overwhelming sadness of grief…without feeling guilty for feeling just a little bit better.
What if, instead of constantly feeling like you’re just getting through, you began to find moments of clarity, connection, and even comfort in the memories of your parent?
Picture feeling the warmth of their love, the lessons they shared, or the moments that made you smile—without the heaviness overtaking you. Even if, your relationship was really complex and not always wonderful..
You could begin to…
❥ reconnect with yourself instead of only living in grief or a life centered solely around caregiving,
❥ deepen your relationships with others who can truly support you, rather than just carrying everything on your own out of fear that no one will really understand
❥ and step forward into a future where their memory brings light alongside the sorrow.
Let’s Connect and Begin Your Journey Together
Hi, I’m Dr. Kristine Pickwith.
I specialize in supporting adults who are navigating grief, loss, and caregiving. Grief is never linear, and no two experiences are the same - even among those mourning the same person. As your therapist, I’ll walk alongside you, helping you sort through the overwhelming emotions, honor your loss, and begin to reintegrate into your life in a way that feels meaningful and true to you. All without feeling like you are abandoning your loved one or the memory of a loved one.
If you’re ready to take the next step, let’s connect. Schedule a free consultation today by clicking below.