Counseling and Support
Professional counseling resources, pet loss support, and a curated library of grief education — offered with dignity, choice, and gentleness.
Counseling Support
Counseling can be especially supportive if your grief feels overwhelming, prolonged, or intertwined with anxiety, depression, trauma, or major life changes. There is no threshold you must meet to deserve care.
- You feel stuck, numb, or emotionally flooded
- Your loss is layered or ongoing (anticipatory or ambiguous grief)
- Sleep, work, or relationships are being significantly impacted
- You want a confidential space to speak freely without burdening others
Trusted Counseling Partners
The organizations below offer professional, grief-informed counseling and support. Each approaches care with respect for individual stories, cultural context, and emotional pacing.
- Intentional Matters
Dr. Michelle Kindred offers compassionate, professional expert counseling and coaching to help you navigate life transitions.
- BetterHelp
Online counseling with licensed therapists, offering flexible scheduling and accessible support from home.
- Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas
Specialized grief support for children, teens, and families navigating loss together.
- The Grief & Loss Center
Individual and group counseling focused on navigating grief with compassion and clarity.
A Gentle Reminder
Counseling does not replace community, ritual, or personal meaning — it simply offers another steady hand when the path feels steep. You are allowed to seek support in the way that fits you best.
Your tears are chemistry and ceremony. Each one carries cortisol, memory, and release.
— Molesey Bridgette
Rituals of Remembrance
Choose a ritual that meets you where you are. You don’t have to do it perfectly — only honestly.
- Memory Box — Gather a collar, photo, note, and a small object that carries their presence.
- Legacy Walk — Walk a familiar route and name one way they changed your life.
- Planting in Their Honor — A tree, flower, or herb as a living marker of love.
- Candle or Lantern — Light a steady flame and speak their name aloud.
- Optional Private Reflection Prompt — If you could give your pet one message right now, what would you say? How would your pet react? What sign would your pet show you to reassure you they are okay?
Support Guides
If you’re supporting a child, navigating anticipatory grief, or creating a memorial — these resources can companion you.
- Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB)
Education and peer support for pet loss grief, including helpful guidance for coping and remembrance.
- Rainbow Bridge Remembrance
A memorial space and community for honoring beloved animals with stories, poems, and remembrance.
- Death Cafe
A welcoming, facilitated space for open conversation about death, dying, and grief. Death Cafes are not therapy — they offer connection, honesty, and a chance to feel less alone in the topics many avoid.
- Exploring Our Grief
A collection of grief-informed reflections and educational resources from Abode — offering language and grounding for the season you’re walking through.
Your tears are chemistry and ceremony. Each one carries cortisol, memory, and release.
— Molesey Bridgette
Resource Library & Education
Curated learning, reflection, and grief-informed education resources — designed to help you build grief literacy gently, one resource at a time.
When nothing softens the grief, may grief soften me.
— Andrea Gibson