Grief and Loss

Grief and loss therapy in Northbrook, IL

Bedrock Psychology Group provides therapy for grief and loss, including bereavement, complicated grief, and losses like divorce, estrangement, or a future that didn't happen. Treatment focuses on processing the loss, not moving through stages on a timeline. Sessions are in person at our Northbrook office or by telehealth across Illinois, and in PSYPACT states with select clinicians. We're in-network with BCBS PPO and Aetna. To start, call (773) 389-2352 or send us a message.

What is grief?

Grief is the response to loss — and loss is broader than death. People grieve relationships that ended, identities they've outlived, futures they expected that didn't materialize, health they've lost, and roles they no longer occupy. Divorce, career loss, infertility, estrangement, a child leaving home — these are genuine losses that often don't receive the social acknowledgment that bereavement does, which can make the grief harder to process.

Grief is not a disorder. It is a normal and necessary human response to losing something that mattered. What warrants clinical attention is grief that becomes stuck — that doesn't move, that interferes significantly with functioning for a prolonged period, or that develops into complicated grief or depression.

Signs and symptoms

Persistent sadness, longing, or preoccupation with what was lost. Difficulty accepting the reality of the loss. Bitterness or anger about the loss that doesn't ease over time. Feeling that life is meaningless or that a part of you is missing. Social withdrawal. Difficulty engaging with normal activities or future planning. Physical symptoms — changes in sleep, appetite, energy — sustained beyond the acute phase of loss.

Complicated grief is distinguished from normal grief by its persistence and intensity, and by the degree to which it impairs daily functioning. It affects roughly 10–15% of bereaved people and responds well to targeted treatment.

How this affects your life

Unprocessed grief tends to accumulate. People who haven't fully grieved one loss often find that subsequent losses hit harder than they should — because they're carrying the earlier grief alongside the new one. They may also find that the grief shows up sideways: as depression, as irritability, as difficulty with intimacy.

Our approach at Bedrock

Grief work at Bedrock is not about moving through stages or reaching acceptance on a timeline. It's about creating the conditions where grief can actually be processed — where the loss can be fully acknowledged, where the emotional weight can be named and carried differently, and where the person can move forward without abandoning what they've lost.