Prolonged Grief Therapy in Ohio and Kentucky

You’re grieving because you love. And that love doesn’t have an off switch.

When you’ve lost someone close to you, there’s no “normal” timeline for how long the pain lasts. But sometimes, the grief doesn’t ease over time. Instead, it settles in. It shapes how you move through your day, how you think about the future, and how safe or connected you feel to the world around you. This may be a sign of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), a condition that’s finally being recognized for what it is: a valid, treatable form of complicated grief.

At L.E. Psych, we offer a thoughtful, trauma-informed space for adults and young professionals who are struggling with prolonged grief. Whether your loss was recent or years ago, you deserve care that doesn’t pathologize your pain—but helps you carry it in a way that feels lighter, steadier, and more integrated into your life.

What Is Prolonged Grief Disorder?

Prolonged Grief Disorder (sometimes called complicated grief) involves intense and persistent emotional pain that continues for more than 12 months after the death of someone close. While it’s natural to feel deep sadness and disorientation after loss, PGD is different: the grief remains raw and unrelenting, interfering with daily functioning and preventing emotional healing.

Common signs of Prolonged Grief Disorder include:

• Feeling stuck in sadness, disbelief, or longing for the person who died

• A sense that life has no purpose or joy without them

• Difficulty trusting others or connecting in relationships

• Avoiding reminders of the loss—or feeling consumed by them

• Intense loneliness, guilt, or anger

Grief like this is a sign that you may need support to find your way forward. And there are effective, evidence-based ways to help you do just that.

How We Help You Heal from Prolonged Grief

At L.E. Psych, we specialize in helping people navigate grief that doesn’t follow the typical stages. We offer care that’s grounded in compassion and shaped by what science tells us actually works.

You’ll never be rushed or told to “move on.” Instead, we help you make sense of your grief, process painful emotions and memories, and gently reconnect with what matters to you.

✦ Prolonged Grief Treatment (PGT)

Prolonged Grief Treatment is a research-based therapy developed specifically to help people recover from PGD. It’s a structured but flexible approach that helps you:

• Tell your story of the loss in a safe, supported way

• Reconnect with values, goals, and relationships

• Learn skills to manage painful emotions

• Rebuild a life that honors your grief but isn’t ruled by it

And there’s great reason for hope - PGT has been shown to be effective even when other therapies haven’t helped.

✦ EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

Sometimes, grief is layered with trauma, and this is especially true if the loss was sudden, violent, or complicated by medical trauma or unfinished business. EMDR can help you process distressing memories and reduce the emotional charge of the loss, without needing to retell every detail.

With EMDR, we help your brain do the healing that it’s wired to do.

✦ Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

If your grief is tied to thoughts like “It should have been me,” “I failed them,” or “I’ll never be okay again,” CPT helps you challenge and reframe those beliefs. It’s particularly helpful when loss is tangled with trauma or guilt.

You’ll learn to distinguish between facts and fear, and begin to make peace with what happened.

✦ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is all about how your thoughts and behaviors might be keeping grief stuck in place. This therapy offers tools for understanding the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and actions. For prolonged grief, it can help you shift out of patterns that keep you stuck in avoidance, isolation, or despair.

We’ll help you find small, meaningful ways to reengage with your life, one gentle step at a time.

✦ ACT for Trauma (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

Grief doesn’t have to be “resolved” to be carried differently. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps you turn toward your grief with openness and compassion—while also taking action toward what matters.

Together, we’ll build a grief practice that helps you honor your person and keep living with purpose.

Why It’s Hard to Heal from Grief on Your Own

Grief can be deeply isolating, especially when your friends and coworkers expect you to be “over it” or “back to normal” after a few months. You may feel pressure to pretend you’re okay, even when the inside of your world is still shattered.

Grief can feel heavy and “off track.” You may worry that your sadness is making you a burden. You might feel angry at how the world keeps moving on. You might also feel scared about connecting with others and potentially experiencing grief again.

The truth is that grief doesn’t follow a neat timeline. And when it lasts longer than expected, it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It means you need more support.

What Prolonged Grief Therapy Looks Like at L.E. Psych

We’re not here to pathologize your pain. We’re here to make room for it with empathy, science, and tools that we know work.

When you begin therapy for Prolonged Grief Disorder with us, you can expect:

• A compassionate, nonjudgmental space to talk openly about your loss

• Custom treatment plans that reflect your preferences, history, and goals

• Clinicians trained in grief-specific and trauma-focused therapies

• Support for reconnecting with purpose, meaning, and a life worth living

Whether you want to understand your grief, reconnect with loved ones, or simply breathe a little easier, we’ll walk with you through it.

Start Grief Therapy in Ohio, Kentucky, or 38 other states

You don’t have to carry this alone forever.

We offer virtual therapy for adults and young professionals across Ohio and Kentucky. If you’re struggling with grief that won’t ease, we’re here to help.

Schedule your free consultation or contact us today to begin therapy for Prolonged Grief Disorder.

You deserve to honor your grief. You also deserve to heal.