Grief and Loss Support in Maryland
Specialized Grief and Bereavement Therapy for Siblings, Spouses, and Friends
Many fears, phobias, and nightmares are rooted in loss, trauma, or unresolved grief. After losing a sibling, spouse, or close friend, it’s common to experience:
Nightmares about the death
Fear of losing others
Health or death anxiety
Avoidance of certain places or activities (work, school, hospitals, leaving the house, sleeping alone)
Art therapy helps people process grief in a way words alone often cannot. My career began at a grief counseling center, where I worked closely with siblings, spouses, and friends navigating profound loss, and I saw the magic of how art therapy was able to help families through grief. Through creative expression, we explore emotions, honor memories, and transform fear into meaning and resilience!
Art Therapy Moves Us Through Grief
Sometimes words aren’t enough to express the depth of loss. Grief touches our hearts, minds, and bodies, and healing often requires more than thinking or talking. Grief is a story that needs to be heard and answered: it calls for creative ways to process, release, and transform our emotions.
Partner Loss
The death of a spouse disrupts daily life and emotional security. After losing a partner, people often experience a loss in their own safety, followed by fears, phobias, and heightened avoidance. It’s not uncommon for partners to also fall into health anxiety, fear of spending time alone, or avoidance of socializing.
Through art therapy and counseling support, we help you honor the relationship you lost, process the grief thoroughly, and regain the sense of safety and stability you deserve.
Sibling Loss
Sibling grief can feel deeply isolating, and can rupture a child’s sense of safety and identity. After a loss, it’s common for children and teens to experience nightmares, trouble sleeping, survivor’s guilt, extreme fear over losing another family member, and avoidance of shared places and routines like school, sports, or birthday parties.
Art therapy support focuses on honoring the sibling, processing guilt, and rebuilding the sibling’s identity.
What Grief Warriors Carry: Hidden Symptoms and Common Challenges
Trouble sleeping, nightmares, and insomnia
Feeling a constant state of worry for yourself or for others
Mood changes such as anger, sadness, or feeling numb
Avoiding things such as school, work, friends, or places that remind you of your loss
Trouble opening up to others or finding the right words to say
Finding it hard to focus or remember daily tasks
Rumination, panic attacks, and ‘what if’ thinking
Feeling a loss of identity and a loss of safety
Grief can feel confusing, heavy, and hard to put into words. Art therapy gives you a safe way to express what’s inside through drawing, painting, ceramics, collage, or other creative projects. By telling your story with art, you can explore your feelings, share what’s hard to say, and understand how your life and identity are changing after a loss. Creative expression helps you make sense of your grief, communicate with others, and discover your own strength and growth along the way.
Storytelling Through Art
We use creative projects to tell the story of your grief (drawing, painting, or making collages) about your memories, feelings, and experiences. This helps you see your emotions clearly and gives them a safe place to exist.
Helps With: Expressing grief, understanding emotions, processing memories, reducing nightmares, and making sense of loss.
Art as Communication
We explore your feelings through art when words are hard to find. Creating visual pieces helps you share what’s inside with others (whether that’s family, friends, or me- your therapist) without needing to explain everything with words.
Helps With: Talking about grief, connecting with others, expressing emotions safely, and reducing isolation.
Art for Identity and Growth
Through creative work, you can explore how your life has changed and who you are becoming after a loss. Art helps you reflect on your strengths, values, and memories, supporting healing and personal growth.
Helps With: Rebuilding identity, self-expression, coping skills, confidence, and resilience.
You don’t have to do this alone.
Grief is confusing and sometimes quite impossible to capture with words. At Labyrinth Art and Wellness, art therapy provides a creative and inviting space for adults, teens, and children to express their feelings, honor their memories, and find genuine connection. Through our journey of storytelling, creative expression, and guided art-making experiences, you can explore your emotions at your own pace, share you experience, and discover strength, hope, and healing after loss.
Ever wonder what a session with me might feel like? Check out my Instagram for additional creative resources and get a better sense of the artistic process and what it's like to work with me: @arttherapywithkristy
