ONLINE therapy ACROSS IlLinois, iowA & michigan
IN-PERSON therapy IN CHICAGO
Relationship Hurt & Loss
Move from what was to what’s next.
There’s a relationship in your life that still gets under your skin… and stays there.
Maybe you rarely talk about because it feels messy, lonely, or you sense that others think you should be over it by now. Maybe you have talked about it plenty—and you’re frustrated that it still has such a hold on you.
Or maybe someone has died, and you're still figuring out how to live with it.
You thought time would fix it. It didn’t.
We mourn when someone dies, whether the relationship was close, complicated, or somewhere in between. We can also grieve relationships or situations that changed, ended, or never became what we needed them to be.
Maybe it's a parent who never showed up the way you needed. A sibling or friend who made you feel small. An ex-partner who left you with more questions than closure. Or a future you thought you were building that now looks very different.
Something about this keeps tugging at you. Disappointment you can't shake, anger that surprises you, sadness that hits at random times. Or a heaviness you can't quite name. You may have tried to rationalize, minimize, or push it down and move on.
But when loss has affected your sense of safety, worth, or belonging—you can’t just think your way out of it.
You’re Ready To…
✓ Find peace without all the answers or apologies.
✓ Trust your own perspective and experience.
✓ Make room for what’s real now, while honoring what you hoped for.
✓ Set boundaries and show up more authentically.
✓ Look back with more understanding and less hurt.
our work together
First, we make room for what you’ve lost.
Grief, anger, sadness, disappointment, resentment, regret, shame…all of it has a place here. There's no rush to forgive, move on, or pretend it didn't matter.
We'll also explore the patterns that formed around this relationship—how you learned to cope, protect yourself, and keep going. Together, we'll consider which strategies still serve you and which you might be ready to leave behind.
Common questions
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In therapy, we’ll slow down and make space for your emotions—grief, anger, sadness, hurt, and the pain of unmet needs—without rushing you to “get over it.” We’ll look at how this relationship or situation shaped you and the patterns that developed around it, so it has less of a hold on your life in the present. Over time, you can feel clearer, lighter, and more grounded in how you show up in relationships and life moving forward.
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That’s okay. Therapy doesn’t require you to end a relationship in order to work on how it affects you. We can explore what you want from the relationship, what may or may not be possible, and how you want to show up in it—including where boundaries, acceptance, or change might be helpful.
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A relationship can continue to affect you long after the person is no longer in your life. Grief can include not only missing someone, but also anger, regret, relief, unresolved conflict, or mourning the relationship you wished you’d had. There’s room for all of that here.
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No. Therapy isn’t about convincing you to forgive, excuse someone’s behavior, or decide that what happened was okay. We’ll focus instead on understanding what the experience meant to you and helping you find a way forward that feels honest and right for you.
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Contact me to schedule a free consultation with me so we can talk about what you’re dealing with and what you’re hoping will change. If it feels like a good fit, we’ll schedule an initial session, you’ll complete some brief paperwork, and we’ll go from there.