Deep Listening • Practical Wisdom • Enduring Support

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose:
all that we deeply love becomes a part of us.
— Helen Keller

Kathryn Kaplan, PhD, CT is a grief support specialist and author. In her private practice she integrates her previous careers as an organization development consultant in healthcare and a psychiatric occupational therapist into her current work. Transformed by the death of her life partner, she uses her wisdom and experience to accompany clients in their grief journeys, non-death losses, and professional writing.  In 2023 she published two memoirs by Christmas Lake Press, Becoming Visible to Myself and Dying with His Eyes Wide Open.

Kathryn was certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying, and Bereavement from the Association of Death Education and Counseling in the US, 2023, and the Association of Human Development and Thanatology from the States of Morelos, 2022. In 2015 she won the Outstanding Article Award for Women’s Voices: Follow-up Study on the Second Generation of Women in Organization Development. She was previously known for her book Directive Group Therapy: Innovative Mental Health Treatment, SLACK, 1988.

If you have experienced a recent loss, or are helping care for someone with a terminal illness, there is no way not to feel pain and grief. Grief is a natural response to losing someone you love; in other words, it is the price of love.

It could be anyone who you regard as family: your spouse, parent, child, friend, or pet.

Often, to heal, it is helpful to have accompaniment on your journey. Someone, like me, who will listen with a whole heart and let you express all that you feel without judgment or trying to “fix it.” I am about respecting your pace, your unique situation, and walking beside you.

I am available to learn with you, staying present as we explore what this loss means to you, and help you to grow, heal, and move forward.

Kathryn’s grief practice, Heartfelt Spaces, includes:

  • Compassionate listening

  • Empathy for loss

  • Mutual respect

  • Sitting with unanswerable questions

  • Working with painful emotions and mixed feelings

  • Sharing wisdom and insights

  • Staying open to new possibilities

  • Accompanying you with presence and patience

This painting by my deceased husband symbolizes to me not only our relationship, but also perhaps your relationship with your loved one, the ways in which you were together and apart. The peaceful setting is what I offer to you, a heartfelt space where we can meet while you unburden yourself of the ways that your loss, or impending loss, is affecting you. 

I am here to support you on this challenging and unique journey, which can be shocking, disorienting, sorrowful, and exhausting. I will never tire of listening from my heart to your story, providing my presence and patience, and offering care and compassion. If you are open, your grief can eventually be a transforming experience. You may not believe it now, but one day you will likely move forward, with ups and downs, to a new normal. Let’s tread gently and deeply into your heart to allow your expression of all that you feel and need.

What colleagues and clients are saying about Kathryn

  • I highly recommend Kathryn for a guide through the process of grieving. As someone who has in depth knowledge of the grieving process, but more importantly has gone thru her own process with the loss of her long-term partner, Kathryn is the perfect person to accompany you on your grief journey.

     

    Judith Charles, M.Ed., LCMHC, Grief Specialist 

  • It makes me feel very secure knowing Kathryn is always around while I am facing multiple losses. I really appreciate her professional support and sincere empathy.

    JT

  • Kathryn is a hidden gem and I am so lucky to have found her and benefit from her wisdom, empathy, and exquisite feedback.With Kathryn I know I am deeply listened to and given guidance that helps me feel confident in all my leadership roles. I know Kathryn is there for me to help me say good-bye to my mother, grieve, and manage the family dynamics with grace.

    AC

  • You won’t find a more loving, wise, kind compassionate companion than Kathryn. In your most difficult places you will find wisdom, acceptance, and laughter to inspire you.

    Dr. Marla Zipin, Psychologist

  • After my mother died, I felt lost, lonely, and in great pain. I had spoken to several grief therapists, but it wasn’t until my conversations with Kathryn that I began to process my grief from a more intimate place.  Her approach to grief work comes from a delicate and safe place which made it easier for me to express the painful emotions of losing my mom.  With Kathryn’s help, I have been able to feel some relief from the unrelenting sadness and I even have days with happy memories where my tears can co-exist with a smile.

    DG

  • Kathryn's wisdom and empathy are an invaluable resource for any type of loss and grief.

    DF

  • Kathryn has an extremely valuable human element combined with the capacity, interest and expertise necessary to empathetically and safely accompany other people through processes of loss and mourning.

    Dr. Alma Huerta

  • At her core, Kathryn is a compassionate, authentic systems thinker and integrator. She has a rare ability and passion to help people help themselves through non-death losses. She listened, guided, encouraged me, and edited my writing to help me navigate challenging work relationships and write the story. She is a unique, self-effacing, wise woman. I couldn't ask for more.

    CKG

  • A calm, serene, compassionate, loving, and wise presence at two of life's most important moments: when in grief or at the end-of-a-life.

    Thomas C. Esakin, Pastoral Counsellor and Spiritual Director

Contact Kathryn

kaplan.kathryn@gmail.com