Grief is the price we pay for love—and it can be one of the loneliest experiences of a lifetime. Whether you’ve lost someone dear to you, are facing a terminal diagnosis, or are walking beside a loved one at the end of their life, grief counseling offers a place where nothing has to be performed, minimized, or rushed.

I’m Melisa P. Sheldon, LCSW. Before opening my Stuart, Florida practice, I spent years working in hospice care, sitting with dying patients and their families. That experience shapes everything about how I companion people through loss: with steadiness, honesty, and deep respect for how personal grief is.

There Is No “Right Way” to Grieve

Despite what our culture suggests, grief doesn’t follow tidy stages or a set timeline. It comes in waves. It shows up as sadness, but also as anger, numbness, guilt, relief, exhaustion, anxiety—sometimes all in one afternoon. It can surge months or years after a loss, triggered by a song, a season, an anniversary.

All of it is normal. And none of it means you’re grieving wrong.

Counseling doesn’t take grief away—nothing should, because grief is love with nowhere to go. What counseling offers is a place to carry it differently: to be witnessed, to make meaning, and to slowly rebuild a life that honors what you’ve lost without being consumed by it.

When Grief Needs Extra Support

Many people move through loss with the support of family and community. But it may be time to reach out for professional help when:

  • The pain isn’t softening at all with time, or is intensifying
  • You feel stuck—unable to return to work, relationships, or daily life
  • Guilt, regret, or “what ifs” play on an endless loop
  • The loss was sudden, traumatic, or complicated
  • Your relationship with the person was painful or unresolved—as is common in families affected by addiction
  • You’re numbing the pain with alcohol, food, or busyness
  • Depression or anxiety has moved in alongside the grief
  • People around you seem to expect you to be “over it,” and you feel increasingly alone

When a loss was traumatic—a sudden death, a suicide, a loss you witnessed—grief can become entangled with trauma. In those cases I may gently incorporate EMDR therapy to help process the traumatic imprint so the natural grieving process can move again.

If you’re not sure whether what you’re feeling “qualifies,” call me at 732-236-5682. Grief doesn’t need to reach a crisis point to deserve support.

Support Through Terminal Illness

Some of the most sacred work I do is with people facing the end of life—their own, or someone they love.

If you’ve received a terminal diagnosis, counseling offers space to process fear, anger, and sorrow; to talk about the things that feel impossible to say to family; to make decisions about how you want to live the time you have; and to seek peace on your own terms.

If you’re caring for a dying loved one, you’re grieving already—it’s called anticipatory grief, and it’s real grief. Caregivers need support too: for the exhaustion, the complicated feelings, the goodbyes that happen in slow motion.

My hospice background means these conversations don’t frighten me, and you won’t have to protect me from the hard parts. Organizations like the Hospice Foundation of America also offer excellent resources for patients and caregivers navigating this season.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does grief counseling take?

There’s no standard timeline, because there’s no standard grief. Some people come for a few months around an acute loss; others work longer with layered or complicated grief. We’ll move at your pace.

It's been years since my loss. Is it too late to get help?

Not at all. Grief that was never given room—because you had to stay strong, keep working, care for others—often waits. It’s never too late to tend to it.

I feel relief since my loved one died, and I'm ashamed of it.

Relief after a long illness, a painful relationship, or an exhausting caregiving season is one of grief’s most common and least talked-about feelings. It doesn’t mean you loved them less. This is exactly the kind of thing counseling gives you space to untangle without judgment.

You Don’t Have to Carry This Alone

Grief was never meant to be carried in isolation. Reach out for a free consultation or call 732-236-5682 for grief counseling in Stuart, FL—in person or by telehealth.