Death of someone close
A spouse, parent, child, sibling or friend, whether it was sudden or came after a long illness.
Grief & Loss Counseling · Prairieville, Louisiana
Grief counseling for the part nobody warns you about.
The casseroles stop coming, everyone else goes back to normal, and you're still standing in the kitchen at 2am. I'm Melissa Shaw, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 24 years of experience, including years as a hospice social worker sitting with families through the hardest days of their lives.
- Confidential, in person
- Anticipatory & long-term grief
- Accepting new clients
What grief counseling helps with
Loss takes many shapes
Anticipatory grief
Grieving while they're still here, during a terminal diagnosis, hospice care or dementia.
Caregiver exhaustion
The guilt, resentment and bone-tiredness of caring for someone, and the strange grief that follows when caregiving ends.
Other losses
Miscarriage or infant loss, divorce, a pet, a job, health or independence, and the losses people rarely acknowledge out loud.
How grief work goes
Grief isn't a problem to fix
Grief is not a disorder and it doesn't move through tidy stages. My job isn't to rush you through it or to tell you how long it should take. It's to walk alongside you while you find a way to carry it.
We make room for the parts that feel unspeakable: relief mixed with sorrow, anger at someone who died, guilt over what you did or didn't say, faith that feels shaken. None of that makes you a bad person, and none of it shocks me.
Alongside that, there's practical work: sleep, appetite, getting through birthdays and anniversaries, deciding what to do with their things, and figuring out how to answer when someone asks how you're doing.
For families, I also work with grieving children, teens and couples, because a loss rarely lands on just one person.
- Grief and bereavement support
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- Family Systems
- Strength-Based
- Christian Counseling (on request)
Practical details
Sessions, fees and location
$160Individual session
$280Couples session
15 minComplimentary consultation
A small number of reduced-fee time slots may be available. They are limited, set at specific times, require documentation of income, and often have a waiting list, so please ask at your consultation. I don't bill insurance, and I accept cash or check.
Office hours
- Monday
- 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
- Tuesday
- 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Thursday
- 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Friday
- 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (alternating weeks)
If a date on the calendar is coming that you are dreading, say so when you call.
Location
15655 Airline Hwy
Prairieville, LA 70769
Serving Prairieville, Gonzales, St. Amant and Baton Rouge, including the Highland Road area. All sessions are held in person, a short drive down Airline Highway.
Questions
People usually ask
How long should grief last?
There's no deadline, and anyone who gives you one is wrong. What we watch for is whether grief is loosening its grip enough for you to live alongside it.
Is it too soon, or too late, to come in?
Neither. Some people come in the week after a funeral, others come 5 years later when something finally cracks open. Both are worth doing.
Do you work with grieving children and teens?
Yes. Children grieve in bursts and often through behavior rather than words, and parents usually want help knowing what to say. I see children, teens, adults and whole families.
What if my faith is part of this?
It can be part of the work if you want it to be. Christian counseling is available on request, and grief that has shaken your faith is welcome in the room either way.
Do you take insurance?
No. I'm private pay and accept cash or check. Sessions are $160. A small number of reduced-fee time slots may be available with documentation of income. They are limited and may have a waiting list.
Contact
Let's talk
Reach out to request a complimentary 15-minute consultation. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, usually within one business day.
To protect your privacy, please don't include detailed health information in this form. We can talk about that on the phone.