Grief and loss
Grief Counseling in Lake Orion and across Michigan
Grief is not an illness, and most people do not need therapy to survive it. Counseling earns its place when grief gets stuck, arrives on top of something else, or has nowhere to go in daily life. Grief and loss are where Lizanne has spent more of her clinical career than anywhere else, including years coordinating a hospital-based bereavement program for children and families in metro Detroit.
Who this helps
How the work goes
Tasks, not stages
The five stages were written about people facing their own death, not people mourning someone else. Real grief comes in waves and doubles back. A more useful frame is that grief has tasks: taking in the reality of the loss, letting the pain be felt rather than managed away, adjusting to a life in which the person is absent, and finding a way to carry the relationship forward rather than closing it.
Room for the whole story
Some sessions are about the loss itself, telling it in full, including the parts you have not said out loud. Some are about the life around it: the paperwork, the family dynamics, the first holiday, the empty side of the bed. And some are about the body, because grief lives there too, in the tight chest and the three a.m. wakefulness. Grounding and pacing keep the feeling moving without letting it overwhelm you.
When grief and trauma travel together
A sudden or violent death is a loss and a trauma at once. The mind can get caught on the moment of the death and replay it in a way that crowds out the memories of the person's life. When that is happening, the trauma layer is worked with first, gently and at a pace you control, so the grief underneath can be reached. Lizanne works from a trauma-informed frame even when the presenting concern is bereavement.
What sessions look like
Sessions are 60 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in person in Lake Orion for clients nearby in Oakland County, or by secure telehealth from anywhere in Michigan. The first session is an introduction, not an excavation: you describe the person you lost and the shape your days have taken since, and Lizanne listens for where the grief is flowing and where it is blocked. There is no set number of sessions and no timeline you are expected to keep. Fees, the deposit, and out-of-network reimbursement are explained on the fees page.
Questions people ask
How soon after a death should I start grief counseling?
There is no right time. Some people come in the first weeks because the practical weight is crushing; others come a year later when everyone else has moved on and they feel out of step. If grief is disrupting sleep, work, or relationships for months, or if you feel stuck rather than moving, that is reason enough.
Is what I am feeling normal, or is it depression?
Grief and depression overlap but are not the same. Grief usually comes in waves, stays tied to the person, and still allows moments of relief or even laughter. Depression tends to be flat, constant, and turned against the self. Sorting out which is which, or whether both are present, is part of the first few sessions.
Do you work with children who are grieving?
Lizanne's background includes years with children and families in a hospital bereavement program. The practice sees adults, and parents often come to learn how to support a grieving child at home; when a child needs their own counselor, she will say so and help you find one.
Can grief counseling be done by telehealth?
Yes. Many grieving clients prefer telehealth because leaving the house is hard in the early months. Sessions are held over a secure video link with any client located in Michigan at the time of the session.