Grief Counseling in Austin, TX

Find Solace in Support

Grief can follow the loss of a loved one, a job, a marriage, even a sense of who you were — any significant loss can leave you feeling hollow. Sometimes it arrives all at once; sometimes it lingers quietly for years. However yours moves, you don’t have to carry it alone.

Uneven felt rings with one deliberately missing, abstract illustration of loss

4.9★

Average rating in our most recent client survey

15 years

Serving Austin since 2011

4,000+

Clients served

30 therapists

With varied licensure and levels of experience

  • Eleni Milliken, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    Colleen Bardelli, LPC‑S

    I recharge in nature with my dog, through movement and creative expression.

  • Laurie Stevens-Beck, LPC-S

    Senior Therapist

    I can't start my day without grounding, a little yoga, and morning meditation.

  • Craig Lesley, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    Laurie Stevens‑Beck, LPC‑S

    I'm happiest with my dogs, open-water swimming, grilling, and yoga.

  • Karla Chamberlain, LMFT

    Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

    I love reading, writing, gardening, cooking, nature walks, and caring for animals.

  • Karla Corro, LPC

    Licensed Professional Counselor

    I love time with my three dogs and husband — hikes and road trips!

  • Teresa Gross, LPC

    Senior Therapist

    Yoga, meditation, and recharging in calm, quiet spaces keeps me grounded, grateful, and present.

  • Sarah Becker, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    Rosalie Piedra, LPC‑S

    I'm a big hobbyist — circus arts, rock climbing, and hands-on DIY.

  • Amber Arellano, LMFT

    Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

    Weekly dance, daily reading, and time in nature keep me grounded.

  • Amy Nikitenko, PsyD

    Clinical Psychologist

    I love camping with family, trekking the wilderness, and crafty DIY projects.

  • A good fit may be worth waiting for

    Meet therapists with waitlists.

    Compare Our Grief Counselors
  • Jinjin Lu, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    JonTayé Bonds, LPC‑S

    Austin native — pickleball, rom-coms, and “summer days” (matcha included).

  • Emma Lapin, Internship Student

    Licensed Professional Counselor

    I recharge with yoga, weight training, and a good bubble bath.

  • Tori Anders, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    Doc Davis, LPC‑S

    I thrive on slow mornings, hot yoga, long walks, cat cuddles, and meaningful conversation.

  • Alicia Denney, LPC, SEP

    Senior Therapist

    I stay balanced through creativity, connection, spirituality, and slowing down.

  • Giselle Otamendi, LCSW

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker

    I'm bilingual and proudly Latina.

  • Erica Speegle, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    Doc Davis, LPC‑S

    Journaling, time outside, and unstructured space for my ADHD brain to chase whimsies.

  • Leigha Rychlik, LPC-A, LMFT-A

    Supervised by
    Diana Walla, LPC‑S

    I love being outside, practicing yoga, and slow mornings to myself.

  • Ellen Almanzan, LPC

    Licensed Professional Counselor

    I recharge in calm, quiet spaces where I can slow down and reflect.

  • Ash Hogle, LPC

    Licensed Professional Counselor

    I recharge with online gaming, my corgi, nature, and learning guitar.

  • Rachel Lhamon, LCSW

    Senior Therapist

    A St. Louis Cardinals fan who loves walks, traveling, reading, and donuts.

  • Kristy Demers, LCSW

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker

    I recharge by meditating, getting outside, and being with people who lift me up.

  • Alicia Ang, LCSW

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker

    I play piano and cello, teach martial arts, and love to hike and camp.

  • Wynden Rogers, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    Doc Davis, LPC‑S

    I care for myself by noticing what I need — quiet reflection, time outdoors, rest.

  • Marla Sanderson, LMFT-S

    Clinical Director

    I love reading, cooking, crafting, video games, and my two rescue dogs.

  • Margot Goralczyk, LCSW

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker

    I recharge with my dog Poppy, the harp, hiking, and “The Office.”

  • Sara Tracy, LPC-A

    Supervised by
    JonTayé Bonds, LPC‑S

    I find joy in nature, writing, hiking, and staying mindful.

  • Kristin Vaughn, PhD

    Executive Director, Clinical Psychologist

    Austin native who loves walks in nature, cooking, and time with my family.

  • Therapist directory

    Find someone you’ll feel comfortable talking to.

    See each therapist’s approach, specialties, availability, and credentials in our matching software.

    View Full Directory

Looking for a therapist? We’ll help you find a perfect match.

Matcha is our matching tool. It’s free, there’s nothing to sign up for, and it takes about a minute.

  • Narrow by insurance, availability, and how a therapist works
  • Save the ones you want to come back to
  • Or just describe what you’re going through, and let it find the fit

Acknowledge the Depth of Loss

Loss doesn’t always look like crying. It shows up in bodies, calendars, and relationships — often in ways the people around you can’t see. What grief can look like:

  • Waves that arrive without warning — in the car, at the store
  • Numbness when you expected tears, or tears when you expected relief
  • Anger, guilt, or relief that feels wrong to admit
  • Exhaustion that sleep doesn’t touch
  • Feeling fine for weeks, then flattened by an anniversary
  • Losing interest in things the person you lost would have loved

However yours looks, it’s allowed. Reach out — a short, gentle conversation with our team, no commitment.

Honor Your Emotions

Grief brings feelings that don’t fit the sympathy-card script — anger at the person who died, guilt about what you did or didn’t say, even relief. Therapy is a safe outlet for all of it, without judgment and without anyone needing you to be \”doing better\” yet.

How long is too long to grieve?

There’s no deadline, and anyone who gives you one is wrong. Grief isn’t a project with a completion date — it changes shape rather than ending, and waves years later are normal, not a setback.

What’s worth attention isn’t how long you’ve grieved but how stuck it feels: if months in, daily life is still impossible, or the loss is the only thing you can think about, targeted support helps — that’s not failing at grief, it’s grief that deserves company.

Wondering about your own timeline? Ask for a call — we’ll listen first.

Seek Meaningful Support

Grief isolates — friends stop asking, and you stop telling. We help you rebuild a support network that can actually hold you: knowing what to ask for, whom to ask, and how to let people in when everything in you wants to close the door.

In session, you get a place where the loss can take up all the space it needs — guided reflection at your pace, never pushed.

Preserve Cherished Memories

Healing doesn’t mean forgetting. We help you create rituals and ways of remembering that keep what you loved present — a continuing bond that honors them without keeping you stuck in the moment of loss.

Do I have to talk about the loss right away?

No. You set the pace, always. Some people need to tell the whole story in the first session; others circle it for weeks, talking about sleep and logistics first. Both are grief work.

Your therapist will never force the wound open. What they will do is make sure that when you’re ready to go there, you’re not going alone.

Have questions about how sessions work? Ask for a call.

Embrace Healing and Growth

In time, many people find grief transforms — pain softening into a deeper appreciation for what they had, and for life’s fragility. That’s not moving on from the person you lost; it’s carrying them differently. We walk beside you the whole way.

We work with several insurance plans and offer clear self-pay rates — see Rates & Insurance, or get in touch and we’ll check your coverage before you begin.

The Grief Counseling Journey

Not a march to \”over it\” — a path toward carrying your loss with more ease. Here’s the arc.

  1. 1Reach out

    A short, gentle conversation about what happened and what you need. A few minutes, no commitment, no pressure to have words yet.

  2. 2Get matched

    Matcha, our custom matching platform, pairs you with a therapist suited to your loss — someone you won’t have to perform being okay for.

  3. 3Let it take up space

    Early sessions move at your pace — the whole story, or the edges first. All of your feelings are allowed in the room.

  4. 4Carry it differently

    Rituals, memory work, and support that fits your life — the weight doesn’t vanish, but it stops crushing.

  5. 5Meaning returns

    Not \”over it\” — through it, changed. Appreciation, connection, and a bond with what you lost that travels with you.

How We Support Grief

Every loss is its own country. Your therapist draws from several evidence-based approaches and follows your pace.

Mindfulness-based therapy

Being with waves of grief without drowning in them or numbing out — presence as a practice. Every AMC therapist is also a trained mindfulness teacher.

Grief-informed talk therapy

Guided reflection with someone who knows the terrain — including the feelings that don’t fit the sympathy-card script.

Ritual & memory work

Creating ways to honor and remember — continuing bonds that keep love present without keeping you stuck.

Self-compassion practices

Releasing the guilt and \”should haves\” that grief loves to collect — treating yourself like someone worth comforting.

Support for complicated loss

Sudden loss, estranged relationships, losses others don’t recognize — grief with extra layers gets extra care.

EMDR for traumatic loss

When the loss itself was traumatic, EMDR helps the hardest images lose their grip — paced carefully, always with consent.

Find the right therapist for your grief

Choose whichever way feels easier. Scroll down to meet the AMC therapists who work with grief and request someone by name.

Or answer a few questions in Matcha, our custom AI-assisted matching tool, and we’ll suggest therapists whose experience and availability may fit your needs.

Person holding another person's hands in comfort during grief

What our clients are saying about us

The breathing technique, being gentle to myself, and learning to recognize when I am not living in the present moment, among other coping skills my therapist has been teaching me have helped me tremendously with anxiety. She is easy to talk to, gentle, and listens without judgement. I am so thankful I found her and recommend her to everyone.