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Discover how starting grief & loss counseling can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.
3 therapists available in Manchester
I know how vulnerable it feels to share your story with a stranger, so I prioritize creating a space where you can unfold at your ...
About
I know how vulnerable it feels to share your story with a stranger, so I prioritize creating a space where you can unfold at your own pace, free of judgment.
Stephanie Villegas is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 5 years of experience specializing in anxiety, depression, and life transitions. She works best with adults, young adolescents, and young professionals struggling with overwhelm, self-doubt, or emotional exhaustion. Her clients often seek relief from persistent worry, low mood, or the weight of perfectionism while wanting to regain balance, set healthy boundaries, and reconnect with their sense of purpose. Together, Stephanie and her clients create a collaborative space to process challenges, develop coping tools, and cultivate a more fulfilling life.
Stephanie earned a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Connecticut. Grounded in evidence-based approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness, she helps clients build resilience while fostering self-compassion. Her background includes working with diverse populations, giving her a deep understanding of systemic barriers.
Stephanie understands how everyday life can feel overwhelming. She creates a warm, non-judgmental space to help you untangle difficult emotions, quiet self-doubt, and rediscover your strength. Whether you're facing life transitions or persistent worry, she'll work with you to build coping skills and meaningful change. Your healing journey starts here.
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As a Latina woman of color, I understand the cultural implications that could arise in a ever changing culture....
As a Latina woman of color, I understand the cultural implications that could arise in a ever changing culture.
Aide A Perez is a Licensed Practitioner Counselor with experience working with both children and adults. She is passionate about helping people of color to address their unique challenges and live more fulfilled lives. Aide specializes in depression, anxiety, grief, and trauma.
Aide completed her Master’s Degree at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Aide utilized multiple treatment approaches including mindfulness, grounding, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused therapy, and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT).
We all go through challenges in life. Aide is confident that she will be able to provide you with support throughout your journey to gain insight, and explore and learn new techniques that will assist you to manage whatever you may be struggling with. If you are ready to do the work, schedule an appointment with her today.
I am a firm believer in problem solving and finding solutions that can allow clients to reclaim their sense of self and lead a pur...
I am a firm believer in problem solving and finding solutions that can allow clients to reclaim their sense of self and lead a purposeful life.
Betsy Ibsen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor with over 40 years of working in both the mental health and addiction fields. She has treated adolescents and adults in outpatient, inpatient, and long-term residential settings. Betsy has studied how the effects of early childhood trauma have caused both physical and emotional effects on adults. What has impressed her the most over the years is that the human mind is creative, complex, and, above all, flexible. With appropriate treatment and life changes, people can heal, move forward, relearn old skills, develop new ones, rebuild support systems, or discover a network unique to their specific needs. Therapeutic tools and strategies will depend on where the client is on their life journey. She has two tenets of her philosophy that focus her work with clients: "Life is not fair," and "There is never enough time."
Betsy completed her master's degree in Social Work at Boston University and lived in Boston for 20 years before relocating to Connecticut and the greater Hartford area. She also worked as a kindergarten teacher in Italy for a year, spent two summers camping in the Soviet Union, and embraces multiculturalism as a way to connect with, recognize, and respect the strengths and needs of people with differing customs and beliefs. Treatment is only as good as the relationship developed with the client.
Life doesn’t much resemble a Hallmark movie with things falling into perfect place at the end of two hours. It’s messier and more random, and at times unpleasantly chaotic. Recognizing that you need some sense of order, safety, and calmness is the first step. Asking for help is the second. Betsy can offer you the space to start this personal journey, to process what is and isn't working for you and why, what belongs to someone else, and what needs to be given away. Who doesn’t want to feel better?
You deserve dedicated time with a mental health professional — it can be life-changing.
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Grief and loss counseling helps people grieve difficult losses including the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. It helps people navigate their grief process and eventually accept, understand, and move forward from their loss. Thriveworks grief therapists in Manchester, CT have specific experience, training, and skills that enable them to best support grieving individuals.
Grief and loss counseling isn’t one-size-fits-all, but it involves sharing about your loss and then working with your counselor to acknowledge and accept your new reality in its wake. Your provider at Thriveworks in Manchester, CT will design your treatment plan around your unique needs and goals for therapy, applying the counseling techniques that best support them.
If you have recently experienced an event like the death of a loved one, a breakup or divorce, the loss of a job, or another major life change, then you may want to seek grief and loss counseling. Grief can be caused by many experiences and events, so if you feel that you are having trouble moving on from a certain event or find that it is still impacting your life and functioning, grief and loss counseling can help you process it more effectively so that you can move on and once again find fulfillment and satisfaction in your life.
There are many counseling theories for treating grief, one of the most frequently used being the dual process model of grief which helps people acknowledge who or what they’ve lost through rumination while also adjusting to the new roles and identities that this loss has now placed on them. There are also many commonly used therapy approaches used in grief and loss counseling, including Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and traumatic grief therapy.
Grief & loss counseling at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and online by video. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
For many, grief and loss counseling lasts for about 6 months. For others, it may last shorter or longer, depending on the severity of their loss and their grief.
Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy
Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management
Thriveworks Counseling & Psychiatry Manchester is off of Tolland Turnpike. Our office is down the street from Sunoco Gas Station, near Extended Stay America and Best Stay Inn. We share an office space with East Point Business Center and LaPorta Periodontics.
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