Grief Counseling in Salem and Throughout Oregon
When Your Loss Feels Too Heavy to Carry Alone
Online Grief Counseling in Salem, Oregon
Grief is never simple, but some losses feel particularly isolating.
Perhaps your pain feels invisible: a loss that others minimize, don’t acknowledge, or simply don’t understand. Maybe it was the end of your 15-year marriage, the death of your beloved dog, a miscarriage, or the career you built at the State Capitol that ended unexpectedly.
Or perhaps your loss was sudden and overwhelming: a car accident, being the victim of a crime, or a loved one’s death. It left you replaying painful memories and struggling to function well in your daily life.
Whether you're navigating grief that feels unrecognized by others or grief that has shattered your sense of safety, your experience deserves professional support. This is space for losses that are too complex for simple condolences and pain that feels too heavy to carry while maintaining your professional and everyday responsibilities in Salem.
I provide specialized grief counseling to adults throughout Salem via secure online therapy sessions. Whether you work downtown, live in West Salem, or call Keizer home, we can work together from wherever you feel most comfortable processing this profound experience.
When Your Grief Feels Invisible
Some losses don’t come with flowers, casseroles, or community support. This is disenfranchised grief: loss that society doesn’t easily recognize or validate. For example, you might be grieving:
The end of a significant relationship through divorce, breakup, or estrangement from family members
A beloved animal companion whose death leaves a huge hole in your daily routines
Career changes, job loss, or retirement that alter your identity and financial security
Pregnancy loss, infertility, or childlessness in a culture that assumes everyone will become parents
The loss of health, mobility, or independence through illness, aging, or disability
Dreams that won’t happen: the business that failed, the move that fell through, the life you planned that became impossible
A person who is still alive but lost to addiction, dementia, mental illness, or estrangement
Whether you’re managing this at your job downtown, in your South Salem home, or during errands around town, you paste on a normal face while inside you're falling apart. People expect you to move on, but this loss has fundamentally changed your world.
When Loss Becomes Trauma
Other grief arrives like a sledgehammer, shattering not just your heart but your entire sense of safety in the world. Maybe you got the phone call about the car accident while picking up groceries at Roth’s. Perhaps you witnessed something terrible, or discovered a loved one after they died.
The loss itself was devastating, but the way it happened has left you with trauma symptoms that make normal grief even more complicated.
Traumatic grief often includes:
Sudden, unexpected death that gave you no time to prepare or say goodbye
Violent or accidental death that feels senseless and preventable
Suicide that leaves you with complicated feelings of guilt, anger, and abandonment
Deaths you witnessed or discovered, creating intrusive images that replay constantly
Multiple losses happening close together, overwhelming your capacity to cope
Losses during other trauma like natural disasters, accidents, or violence
Your nervous system stays stuck in emergency mode. You might be walking through Riverfront Park and suddenly feel your heart racing for no apparent reason. Sleep becomes elusive. Concentration becomes nearly impossible. Simple tasks like shopping at Lancaster Mall can trigger panic responses when you remember being there together.
The anniversary dates, certain locations around Salem, even specific weather conditions can transport you back to the trauma, making grief feel like it's happening all over again.
The Common Ground: It’s Grief That Isolates You
Whether your grief feels invisible to others or overwhelming to yourself, both experiences share a profound sense of isolation. You're surrounded by people — at work, in your neighborhood, at social gatherings — but feel completely alone in your pain. People ask "How are you?" and you answer "Fine" because explaining feels impossible or inappropriate.
Salem's close-knit community can make this isolation even more complex. In a smaller city where people know your business, you might feel pressure to appear like you’re doing well when you're actually struggling. Whether you're managing grief while working downtown, raising kids in Hayesville, or navigating retirement in South Salem, the expectation to maintain normalcy can feel overwhelming.
You might find yourself…
Performing normalcy at family gatherings, community events, or social situations while internally collapsing
Minimizing your own pain because others suggest you should be "grateful" or "moving on" by now
Avoiding places around Salem where you might run into people who knew about your loss and will ask how you're doing
Feeling guilty for moments of joy or normalcy, as if being okay betrays your loss
Struggling with daily tasks while trying to hide it from family, friends, or employers
The weight of carrying this alone while maintaining normal responsibilities creates additional stress on top of your original grief.
Creative & Somatic Approaches for Complex Grief
My approach to grief counseling recognizes that healing happens at multiple levels — emotional, physical, and creative — not just cognitive. Whether your grief feels invisible to others or overwhelming to yourself, we’ll work with your whole experience, not just the parts you can easily describe.
For disenfranchised grief: We'll validate the full scope of your loss and help you process feelings that have been dismissed or minimized. Sometimes drawing your relationship with your lost pet reveals depths of love that words minimize. Sometimes creating art about your ended marriage helps you honor what was meaningful without shame.
For traumatic grief: We'll work with your nervous system's trauma responses while processing your loss. When your body holds the shock of sudden death or the horror of what you witnessed, we need approaches that help your system recognize safety again. Somatic awareness helps you notice when trauma is activated and develop tools for self-regulation.
For both: Creative expression often accesses emotions that talking cannot reach. Art therapy isn't about making pretty pictures—it's about externalizing internal experiences that feel too large or complex for words. Your creative expression might be chaotic, dark, or abstract, reflecting the true nature of your grief rather than sanitized versions others expect.
Meeting online provides the privacy crucial for processing sensitive or stigmatized losses. You might join sessions from your home in West Salem when discussing your divorce, from your bedroom when pet loss feels too raw for public conversation, or from a quiet space when you need to fall apart without worrying about who might see you.
What Happens After Grief Counseling?
You Stop Living in Emergency Mode
Daily tasks become manageable again. Grocery shopping at Roth's doesn't require mental preparation for potential triggers. Driving past Salem Hospital doesn't send your heart racing. Your nervous system learns to distinguish between present-moment safety and trauma memories.
Sleep returns to your life. Instead of lying awake replaying final conversations or imagining different outcomes, you fall asleep without your mind spinning. Dreams shift from nightmares to normal processing. You wake up rested rather than already emotionally exhausted.
Concentration comes back gradually. Reading reports at your DEQ office doesn't require re-reading the same paragraph seventeen times. Meetings at the Marion County offices become followable again. Your professional competence returns without the enormous effort it currently requires.
Your Relationship with Grief Transforms
Anniversaries become manageable rituals. Their birthday or death date still brings sadness, but you plan meaningful ways to honor them instead of dreading weeks of emotional devastation. You might visit their favorite spot at Riverfront Park, cook their preferred meal, or create something artistic in their memory.
Triggers become predictable rather than ambushing. You recognize when certain songs, smells, or locations will bring waves of grief. Instead of being caught off-guard at Costco or during holiday shopping downtown, you prepare emotionally and have tools for navigating difficult moments.
You develop an ongoing connection. The relationship continues in new forms. You might mentally consult them about decisions, feel their presence during challenging moments at work, or maintain traditions they valued. Love finds new expressions rather than ending.
Life Expands Beyond Survival
Future planning becomes possible. You can consider vacation requests at work without feeling guilty about experiencing joy. Career decisions happen based on your interests rather than just getting through each day. You begin investing in experiences again.
Relationships deepen authentically. Friends and family get to support the real you rather than the version who pretends everything is fine. Professional relationships become more genuine when you stop performing complete recovery. People appreciate your honesty about human experience.
Meaning emerges from loss. Not that their death was meaningful, but that your love for them transforms into something that enriches rather than only diminishes your life. You might volunteer with organizations they cared about, pursue dreams you discussed together, or help others navigate similar losses.
FAqs For Salem Residents
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Yes. I work with clients throughout Salem and surrounding areas via secure online therapy. Whether you're downtown near the Capitol, in West Salem, South Salem near Kuebler, or in communities like Keizer, Silverton, or Turner, we can work together. Online sessions provide privacy and flexibility during your grief process.
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Salem offers several spaces that complement grief work. Minto-Brown Island Park provides peaceful walking paths for processing emotions between sessions. The Willamette River Greenway offers grounding spaces when you need nature connection. Salem Public Library has quiet areas for journaling or reflection. For crisis support, Marion County Mental Health provides 24/7 services at 503-588-5032. Local grief support groups meet at various churches and community centers throughout the city.
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Traumatic grief includes nervous system dysregulation alongside emotional pain. We address trauma symptoms—flashbacks, panic, sleep disruption, hypervigilance—using somatic approaches that help your body recognize safety again. This creates foundation for processing the grief itself.
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All significant losses deserve support. Whether you're mourning a relationship, career, health changes, pet loss, or unfulfilled dreams, your grief is valid. I work with many forms of loss that don't receive social recognition but create genuine pain requiring professional attention.
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Grief counseling specifically addresses the complex emotional, physical, and spiritual disruption that follows significant loss. I use specialized approaches for trauma-related grief that often accompanies sudden or complicated deaths, focusing on nervous system healing alongside emotional processing.
Healing is possible. Get started today.
Your Salem Grief Counselor
Jeniffer Duncan, LPC, LAT
I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Art Therapist providing specialized grief and bereavement counseling throughout Oregon. I work exclusively online, allowing you to process your loss in environments where you feel most safe and comfortable.
I don’t believe in timelines for grief, nor do I expect you to “get over” losing someone you love. My approach honors the ongoing nature of love while helping you reclaim capacity for life alongside your loss.
Jeniffer Duncan, Oregon Licensed Professional Counselor
License #C3022 · Verify with State Board
frequently asked questions
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Yes, I am currently accepting new clients. I generally work Monday through Wednesday. I have limited afternoon availability, so please contact me to inquire about hours.
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No, I only see clients online.
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My fee is $250 for 55-minutes. If you prefer to work more intensively, I offer 90-minute sessions for $375. If you’d like to schedule a half-day or a multi-day therapy intensive, please see my rates page for more information about package options.
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No, I am not in-network with any insurance company. I would be happy to provide a Superbill (an itemized receipt) for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.
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I primarily use art therapy (also called expressive art therapy, or creative art therapy) and somatic therapy.
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Yes, but only when it will be helpful and effective for you. If you’ve already had a lot of talk therapy, it’s likely time to try a more body-based approach.
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I offer complimentary 30-minute consultations to prospective clients so that you and I can get a feel for what it will be like to work together. However, if that doesn’t work for you, I’d be happy to schedule your intake appointment.
Please scroll down to my contact form, or send me a message on my contact page and I will respond within 48 business hours with my availability.
Start Grief & Bereavement Counseling today
Contact Me
Contact me to schedule your first therapy appointment.
Complete this form and I’ll be back in touch via email, text, or phone within 1-2 business days.
Call or Text
503-974-4140
jduncanlpc@gmail.com
MAILING ADDRESS (Services are conducted 100% online)
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd. #398 Portland, OR 97206