Heal After Loss Through Trauma-Informed Grief Therapy

With Licensed Grief Therapist, Camille Miskin (she/her), LCSW, in Davis County, Utah

Grief can shatter our worlds through death, trauma, and heartache. Or grief can creep quietly into our lives through smaller, accumulated losses. No matter the circumstance of loss, I fiercely believe all grief deserves to be honored.

These are the types of grief I support:

Serving clients 14+ years or older

Traumatic/sudden death

Death by suicide, accidental death, death by overdose, or other violence.

Expected death

A death that you saw coming but still turned your world upside down (parent, grandparent loss, death by terminal illness, etc).

Death of a child

Because parents shouldn’t have to bury their child…but you did.

Anticipatory loss (yourself or loved one)

You know death is coming, you’re prepared…and yet it’s still so hard.

Pet loss

An often overlooked type of grief.

Ambiguous Loss

Loss that is not often outwardly seen as a grief to bare and very much depends on personal interpretation (i.e. an undesired home/job move, chronic illness diagnosis, and lots of other situations that require a big transition

If you find yourself in a new reality that you don’t recognize due to grief or loss, I support a wide range of experiences:

Isolation in the grief experience.
Invalidation from society and/or self. Hint: this often sounds like, “I shouldn’t be so sad…I should be over this…”.
Inability to function the way you did prior to your loss.
Bewilderment that grief is a full-body, somatic experience (you don’t feel safe/good in your body anymore).
Managing the physical symptoms of grief: bone-deep fatigue, crying that ambushes you in the grocery store, eating everything or nothing.
Non-death losses that still weigh heavy on your heart and require complex processing (such as divorce).
How to survive death anniversaries and other heartbreaking milestones.
Managing guilt, rumination and regret in the aftermath of a death.
Death-related anxiety following a loss, especially if it was sudden or traumatic.
Setting loving but firm boundaries with the people who don’t understand your experience.

I began working with Cami in 2021, just a few days after losing a child to suicide. I was terrified by the unknown of what was before me in the coming weeks, days, and sometimes just hours. Everything in my world had changed in one day, forever. I still recall specific bits of wisdom she imparted to me that day, when so much was a blur. I don’t hesitate to recommend Cami as a uniquely qualified, unusually perceptive, and incredibly insightful person, capable of helping people through even the most extreme losses.

— Grief Client

“What’s the point of grief therapy? My grief isn’t “that” bad…right?”

Working with a grief therapist isn’t just if you “feel sad.” It’s about being held through heaviness by a gentle, non-judgemental professional who “gets” grief. You don’t have to tiptoe around topics or carefully select your words so you don’t ‘sound crazy’.

We kind of suck at grief…especially in our sadness-avoidant society. We are told “this isn’t that bad,” or told to look for that elusive silver lining until we end up invalidating our own emotions. This makes grief an isolating experience, one where you question your reactions and reality.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Grief therapy provides:

A safe, supportive space to process your loss in your own time, without being made to feel like you’re grieving wrong.
Gentle support to reorient and rebuild in the wake of loss.
Therapeutic approaches such as ART and other EMDR-based interventions with mindfulness-informed practices, and gentle somatic techniques for bearing the unbearable, including actionable research-backed methods for addressing and honoring your grief.

Camille Miskin, LCSW (she/her), trauma-informed, death care trained therapist licensed in the state of Utah.

Hi. I’m Cami, a licensed grief therapist serving the Davis County community virtually and in-person.

My approach to clinical grief therapy is death-care informed, impacted by my experience as a former hospice social worker and chaplain. In that role, I witnessed dozens of deaths, which has impacted the lens in which I view grief.

And through that work, I have learned that grief is much more than sadness. It expands us, often against our will, to show us the side of attachment that no one is prepared to experience.

Grief can reignite old traumas, shining a light on relational complexities.

Grief re-orients the way you see your place in this world, often uprooting old roles, shattering self-confidence, and demanding a re-framing of identity. For this reason, I am also trained in anxiety, depression, and couple’s therapy modalities. Grief is an ‘umbrella’ that holds lots of other mental health conditions within it!

When people don’t recognize themselves after loss, this is because of the far-reaching effects of grief.

And I’m here to say: this is to be expected. This is how the soul processes loss. Let’s sit with this tenderness, together, and explore how we may integrate grief with life.

Grief is everywhere: in the headlines, in our communities, in our lives. Whether you’re grieving a traumatic death, a gentle passing, or one life’s millions of little losses, it’s time that we own our grief.

Here’s how we work together to navigate grief and loss:

Hold space for stories that feel too sensitive for the world

Grief education to validate your experience (you’re not crazy, I promise)

Utilizing therapeutic approaches and clinical modalities (somatic therapy, relational therapy, ART, trauma-informed care)

You will experience a clinical therapy structure which includes an official treatment plan, collaboration with other members of your care team such as your psychiatrist (if needed), HIPPA compliance and the option to pay for this therapy using your health insurance (see what insurance plans I accept here)

Are you ready to feel supported in your grief experience?

A Gentle Guide for What to Expect

Reaching out for grief therapy can be hard, especially if you’re used to carrying it all on your own or telling yourself your grief doesn’t matter. That’s why I’m sharing this loose outline of what to expect after you press that “Contact Me” button.

Reach out to begin.

Fill out your intake form, located here. I like to keep things simple, so it shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes.

Intake form review.

After receiving your form, I’ll review your information to ensure you’re a good fit for my clinical grief therapy.

Schedule your first session.

After I’ve looked over your details, you’ll be emailed a link to schedule either a complimentary free 30 min consultation or (if you’re ready to roll) your first initial therapy session.

I am generally guarded in giving people my trust. However, after my initial session, I felt I had been given a gift: a highly-skilled therapist who not only has a unique understanding of people’s grieving experiences, but also the professional skill set, drive and desire to help people navigate what at times seems impossible. Cami frames the work in ways that make hope and progress accessible to me, and in ways that work with my philosophy of life, and death. She gets to the heart of issues quickly. She has been attuned to pain so intense that some days I found it difficult to simply breathe. She is not afraid to engage in such intensely difficult work.

— Grief client

Grief Therapy FAQs

How does grief therapy work?

In grief therapy, we hold space to share and process stories of loss, guided by what feels heaviest or most meaningful to you. Together, we’ll explore your grief narratives (including those that may be layered in guilt or shame), collaborate on coping methods, and forge a gentle way forward towards healing and honoring the heartache of what was lost.

Does my grief count as grief? Do you work with my type of loss?

If it feels like grief, it’s grief. And I work with grief in its varying forms. In other words: yes, you and your experience are valid, normal, and it’s okay to seek support in navigating whatever loss you may be holding.

How do we meet for grief therapy?

If you’re local to the Davis County area, we can meet in-person at my office. If you’re located in a different area of Utah, we will meet virtually through a secure, HIPPA-compliant video conference platform.

Do you take insurance?

Yes! Please complete an inquiry form and we will review your coverage as soon as we can confirm details with your provider (this may take up to a week past your consultation/initial session). If you have any detailed questions regarding how to to utilize your insurance for clinical therapy, you can message my biller, Emily Cox, at 435-609-6849 or ecbillingutah@gmail.com

How long does grief therapy last?

Grief work takes as long as it takes; this process is never rushed but it’s also not a process without any end in sight; the modalities I use deliver real relief. I have worked with some clients for only 4-6 months as they recover from acute grief symptoms and some clients on a longer term basis, like 4+ years off and on (many choose to take seasons ‘off’ and then come back only when they need another layer of support). Either way, I’m down for what works best for you!

What’s the difference between grief coaching (support) vs. clinical grief therapy?

Both clinical therapy and coaching can be effective methods for navigating grief. Clinical care is only provided by a licensed mental health professional (such as myself), whereas grief coaching could be offered by anyone: grief educators, death doulas, and more. Clinical work can utilize modalities coaching may not have access to. The biggest difference is that clinical grief therapy is insurance-supported, whereas coaching is always pay-out-of-pocket.

Psychotherapy, therapy, or talk therapy is appropriate to diagnose and treat mental illness, heal relationship distress, and is generally longer-term than coaching. While therapy is often focued on the present and future, it also focuses on the past, including trauma.

Therapists can also do coaching, but coaches do not offer therapy.

Coaching is focused on improving a very specific area of your life and deals with present and future. COACHING IS NOT APPROPRIATE TO TREAT MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS.

Grief – of all kinds – is heavy. You don’t have to carry it alone.