Grief and Loss Therapy in Los Angeles

Grief is a response to loss—but not just the kind of loss most people talk about. Yes, it can come with the death of a loved one. But it also shows up in the loss of safety, family, identity, culture, home, community, innocence, or opportunity. In my practice, I hold grief as something far more expansive than what the dominant culture often allows. If you have lived through trauma, been impacted by systems of oppression, or carry complicated family dynamics, your grief may not have had a place to land. I offer therapy that makes space for it.

A Broader Understanding of Grief

Many of my clients didn’t even know they were grieving until we started naming it. You might feel numb, angry, or heavy. You might avoid your feelings entirely. Or you might find yourself stuck in cycles of guilt, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm. Grief shows up in ways that don’t always look like crying or sadness.

I support clients who are grieving:

Death of a loved one, expected or sudden
Estrangement or loss of relationship with family
Childhoods marked by abandonment, neglect, or abuse
Displacement due to immigration, war, or systemic violence
Identity loss, including around gender, religion, or cultural belonging
Loss of a dream, opportunity, or imagined future
Ongoing, ambiguous losses that can’t be neatly defined

Grief doesn’t have to be justified. It doesn’t need to meet a standard or timeline. It just needs to be felt.

Holding Complicated Losses

Some grief is straightforward. Much of it is not. Especially in cases of abuse, incarceration, foster care, or family estrangement, grief can be laced with relief, rage, confusion, or shame. You may be mourning someone who also hurt you. You may be mourning something you never got to have.

I specialize in creating space for grief that doesn’t fit into neat categories. In our work together, we explore what’s been lost—even if others never acknowledged it. Therapy is a space where all of your feelings are welcome. No pressure to tidy them up.

Collective and Intergenerational Grief

If you are part of a marginalized community, you may be carrying grief that is not only personal but also historical and collective. Grief for what has been taken from your people. Grief for cultural erasure. Grief for ongoing systemic harm. This kind of grief is often silenced or pushed aside in clinical spaces.

I welcome it. I recognize that grief can be both individual and communal, both past and present. We will explore not only what you are grieving, but what it means to grieve in a society that often demands stoicism, productivity, and “moving on.”

When Grief Follows You

Unprocessed grief doesn’t disappear. It often resurfaces in anxiety, depression, disconnection, or somatic symptoms. You might feel stuck in old emotional patterns without knowing why. You might find yourself unable to access joy, or hyper-focused on control and order.

In therapy, we slow down. We allow the grief to be witnessed instead of carried alone. Often, clients feel immediate relief just in having their experience named. From there, we begin to gently explore what the grief is asking of you, and how it might transform if given space.

Trauma-Informed Grief Work

Much of the grief I work with is connected to trauma. That might be the trauma of abandonment, abuse, systemic oppression, or life-threatening events. When trauma is present, grief doesn’t unfold in a linear way. It can be jagged, confusing, or delayed.

I approach grief with deep care and attunement to your nervous system. This means we won’t push or retraumatize. We’ll work at a pace that feels safe, using somatic and relational practices to stay grounded. We may also integrate cultural or ancestral frameworks for mourning, depending on what resonates for you.

There Is No Right Way to Grieve

You don’t need to perform grief the way others expect you to. You might not cry. You might cry a lot. You might feel nothing and then everything. Whatever your process looks like, it belongs here.

Therapy is not about rushing you to “acceptance.” It’s about witnessing your experience, helping you understand it, and supporting your ability to live alongside the grief in a more compassionate way.

What Grief Therapy Can Help With

Making sense of overwhelming or confusing feelings
Naming losses that haven’t been acknowledged
Developing rituals or practices to honor your grief
Understanding how grief connects to trauma or identity
Rebuilding trust, purpose, and connection
Allowing space for joy and meaning to return over time

You do not need to grieve alone. You do not need to be “over it.” You are allowed to feel what you feel, for as long as you feel it.

Ready to Begin Grief and Loss Therapy in Los Angeles?

If you’re carrying grief—clear or complicated, past or present—and want a space to explore it with care and support, I’m here. Together, we can begin to understand what has been lost, and what remains.

📞 Call us: (323) 673-5562
🖥️ Book Online: Free 20-minute Consultation
📩 Email us: dk@healingwithdeepa.com

Reach out for your
free consultation today.

(323) 673-5562

Free 20-min Consultation

Healing with Deepa

Deepa Karmakar, LCSW