5 GRIEF COUNSELORS IN SAN DIEGO

When absence takes up all the space.

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WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

The world has kept moving, but you haven’t. Grief doesn’t follow a schedule. It doesn’t care how long it’s been. One day you’re functioning — the next, you’re undone by a song, a silence, or a space that used to be filled by someone you love.

Maybe you’re dealing with the death of a loved one. Or maybe your loss is less visible — the end of a relationship, a major life change, the version of life you thought you’d have. You might feel numb, angry, guilty, or totally untethered.

Grief isn’t a problem to solve. It’s an experience you learn to carry.

WHERE WILL YOU GO?

You want to remember not feel lost

The goal of grief counseling isn’t to make the loss disappear. It’s to help you find space to breathe again. To feel the sadness without drowning in it. To laugh again, without guilt.

Grief can become something you live with, not under. You want to feel steady, connected, and able to hold both the love and the loss without falling apart.

Healing doesn’t mean forgetting. It means integrating what’s missing into a life that still matters.

HOW WILL YOU GET THERE?

One breath at a time

Healing from grief is personal and grounded in trust. Grief can feel overwhelming, but with the right kind of support, it becomes something you can carry—not something that carries you. At Pathways Family Therapy, we meet you with gentle compassion and steady guidance as you move through the pain of loss and begin to find meaning again.

We support grief recovery through:

  • Individual therapy to explore your emotions, memories, and questions in a safe, private space
  • Group therapy for shared understanding, connection, and a reminder that you’re not alone
  • Art therapy when words fall short and healing needs creative expression
  • Narrative therapy to help you make sense of your story and integrate the loss into your life
  • Mindfulness-based practices to stay present through emotional waves
  • Somatic therapy to release the grief your body may be holding

There’s no single map for grief — but there is support. And you don’t have to walk through it without someone beside you.

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Meet our grief counselors in San Diego

Jennifer Phelps, LMFT, ATR

Best for integrating art therapy

I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Registered Art Therapist. Art therapy can treat many mental health conditions, but in my experience, art therapy suits itself particularly well to the often indescribable pain and emptiness of grief. Along with art therapy, I help my clients move through their grief with Family-Systems, Dialectical Behavioral, and Person-Centered approaches. I love working with folks who are new to therapy, so if you’re nervous about starting the process, I’m very comfortable helping you through it.

  • Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT 138186); Registered Art Therapist (ATR 21-224)
  • Location: Chula Vista & Sorrento Valley
  • Virtual or In Person: Virtual and in person options

Contact Jennifer

Connor Seidler, LMFT

Best for men

I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and I’ve worked with people from all sorts of backgrounds, experiences, and mental health conditions. My therapeutic approaches include Narrative, Emotion Focused, DBT, CBT and Internal Family Systems. Our society pressures men to hide their emotions—even when they’re grieving. You don’t have to hide anything when you’re in session with me. If you’d like to join a community of men who feel the same way, you can join our Men’s Group.

  • Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT 146060)
  • Location: Chula Vista & Sorrento Valley
  • Virtual or In Person: Virtual and in person options

Contact Connor

Victoria Perez, LCSW

Best for children, teens, and young adults

I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes working with kids, teens, and young adults. I also work closely with families to support healing and growth, especially during difficult transitions like parent separation, divorce, and other forms of loss. I use a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Play Therapy, and a Strength Based approach to help younger people move through complicated emotions that most older adults don’t even understand. If you feel lost supporting your children in their grief — whether they’re five or 25 — I can help.

  • Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LMFT 137980)
  • Location: Chula Vista
  • Virtual or In Person: Virtual and in person options

 

Contact Victoria

Breanne Dargon, LMFT

Best for women

I’m one of the cofounders of Pathways Family Therapy and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with extensive experience in addiction recovery, trauma, anxiety, depression, stage of life changes, and relationship issues. Since I take a Family Systems approach to treatment, I understand how loss affects each family member differently and the family dynamic as a whole. Women often disproportionately undertake the emotional labor in families. If this has been your experience with grief, know that I will create a safe space where you don’t have to be the one who is “put together.” I’ve held space for many people experiencing loss and I’m confident I can help you too. No feeling is too big when we’re in session together.

  • Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT 99204)
  • Location: Chula Vista & Sorrento Valley
  • Virtual or In Person: Virtual and in person options

Contact Breanne

Jeff Williams, LCSW

Best for children, teens, and young adults

I’m one of the cofounders of Pathways Family Therapy and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I’ve worked with individuals, couples, and families since 2002, and I’m fortunate to have trained 300+ hours over a 3 year period in Structural Family Therapy, along with added training in CBT, DBT, Bowen Systems, and attachment-based and trauma-informed approaches.. If you want your family to receive grief counseling together, I offer family therapy and family therapy intensives. Throughout the years, I’ve come to a firm belief that family healing can lead to individual healing. It is possible to live a life again after a devastating loss — no matter how broken everything feels — and I’m here to help.

  • Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LMFT 28894)
  • Location: Chula Vista
  • Virtual or In Person: Virtual and in person options

Contact Jeff

Frequently asked questions about grief counseling

Which modalities are best for grief counseling?

We support grief recovery through:

  • Individual therapy to explore your emotions, memories, and questions in a safe, private space
  • Group therapy for shared understanding, connection, and a reminder that you’re not alone
  • Art therapy when words fall short and healing needs creative expression
  • Narrative therapy to help you make sense of your story and integrate the loss into your life
  • Mindfulness-based practices to stay present through emotional waves
  • Somatic therapy to release the grief your body may be holding

There’s no single map for grief — but there is support. And you don’t have to walk through it without someone beside you.

Is it possible to recover from grief?

After your loss, you may have felt pressured by other people to “move on.” But the reality is that loss is always with us. It changes us. Life will change with it. We don’t believe that the purpose of grief counseling is to “get over it;” the purpose is to heal, honor your loss, and learn how to live again. We’ll take therapy at your pace, and you will never feel pressured to rush through your grief.

Why can’t I deal with my grief on my own?

Many of us suffer in silence. We are afraid to be vulnerable or lean on  others with our grief, despite how all encompassing it is. Maybe it seems like other people who’ve lost loved ones have it altogether, but they might just be suffering alone. Sometimes we don’t think others will understand, will get burnt out, or we are frozen in confusion and pain, not wanting to let out the last pieces of something we held so dear. Grief counselors aren’t afraid of the weight of your emotions and are trained to help you move through the process in a way that’s healing. It’s not weak to receive help. It’s actually extraordinarily brave to face grief with a therapist, especially when big parts of you are pulling to isolate and not attach to other humans.

Should I join a grief support group?

Being open about your loss with other people who know what you’re going through can feel incredibly supportive. Grief can be isolating in your day-to-day life, but there are other people who relate and feel the same way. Ask us about our group therapy options if you’d like to try healing in community with others.

Pathways Family Therapy

You have a story to tell. We're listening.

Call Us: 619-541-5036
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*Pathways is a private-pay, non-insurance-based practice.

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Locations

Central San Diego
5755 Oberlin Dr, Suite 108
San Diego CA 92121

Chula Vista
1415 Ridgeback Rd, Suite 2
Chula Vista, CA 91910

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