Pregnancy Loss

Coping with the Unimaginable: Finding Support After A Pregnancy Loss

The loss of a pregnancy, no matter the stage, is a devastating experience. It shatters dreams and brings a profound sense of loss. You may find yourself overwhelmed by a range of intense emotions:

Sadness and despair: The weight of your loss may feel unbearable, leaving you feeling heartbroken.
Anger and guilt: You might struggle with feelings of anger towards yourself, your body, or even a higher power. Guilt may be present, questioning if you could have done anything differently or wondering what you did wrong.
Shock and disbelief: At times it can be hard to accept this has happened. You may feel numb or disconnected from reality.
Emptiness and loneliness: The loss of a pregnancy can create a deep sense of loneliness and isolation even when surrounded by loved ones who care.

If you're struggling to cope with the emotional turmoil of a pregnancy loss, know that you don't have to navigate this journey alone. At Engage Psychotherapy, we provide compassionate and specialized grief counseling to help you heal and find peace.

Why Grief Counseling is Essential After Pregnancy Loss

Grief is a natural response to loss, but the grief associated with pregnancy loss is unique and complex. It's devastating processing the loss of an envisioned future. Our therapists want to support you and:

Validate your grief: We recognize that your grief is real and significant, regardless of the stage of your pregnancy.
Process your emotions: We'll provide a safe space for you to dwell in your feelings without judgment, impatience, and help you understand and work through them.
Develop coping mechanisms: We'll help you develop strategies for managing your grief and learn how to honor that grief as it represents the love for your child.

A Safe Haven for Healing

Pregnancy loss is often a silent sorrow, shrouded in misunderstanding and well-meaning but unhelpful advice and comments. At Engage Psychotherapy, we offer a haven where you can openly express your grief and receive the specialized support you need. Our therapists are experienced in helping individuals and couples navigate the emotional complexities of miscarriages, terminations, and stillbirths.

Reproductive Loss

Not all losses are due to a miscarriage, termination, or stillbirth. Reproductive loss includes the deep sorrow of infertility, failed adoption, surrogacy, or infertility treatment, and death from a congenital disability soon after birth. It is unwanted childlessness as a whole. These challenges affect both men and women alike and significantly impact family planning. The disappointment can be all consuming and it's critical to find support individually or as a family during this time to help process these complicated intricacies.

Grief Doesn't Have a Timeline

Time doesn't heal grief because grief never goes away. However, time can give us the gift of learning how to live in peace with that grief. Our therapists will walk alongside you on your journey, offering guidance and support as you navigate your grief at your own pace.

More Than Just Talking

While talking about your grief is essential, we also incorporate other therapeutic approaches to help you heal. These may include:

Mindfulness techniques: To help you manage anxiety and find moments of peace.
Creative expression: To explore your emotions through art, writing, or other creative outlets.
Rituals and memorials: To honor your loss and create meaningful ways to remember.

Taking the First Step

Reaching out for help is a courageous step towards healing. We offer both in-person and online therapy options to provide the support you need in a way that feels comfortable and accessible.

You May Still Have Some Questions About Pregnancy Loss Counseling…

I’m worried that talking about pregnancy loss in therapy will only make things worse.

Grief is normal, and therapy can provide a small and contained space each week for you to hold all the difficult feelings with a trusted person. In this way you can begin to figure out how to carry these feelings and open up space for the painful emotions, the happy memories, and the positive meaning that you’ve gained from your loss.

I’m skeptical about the effectiveness of pregnancy loss therapy, especially online therapy.

Grief faced together will quickly become more manageable, whether online or in person. While it can definitely seem overwhelming and even insurmountable at the beginning, we are all built to be able to hold grief and cope with loss, and therapy can help us find healing in the midst of our pain. With therapy, you can navigate places where you are feeling stuck relatively quickly and find ways to regain pleasure, meaning, and purpose.

I’m concerned about the overall time and cost of grief therapy.

We’re registered to bill with most insurance companies and accept assignments using out-of-network benefits, so you can usually just pay your cost-sharing amount. And while therapy will indeed involve some time and work, it will be effort well spent if it contributes to your mental health and overall emotional well-being.