Through therapy and self-care, we can transform the pain of grief into the power to heal, rediscover joy, and embrace life again. In this compelling episode, Brad Taylor discusses the effective tools for managing grief. Drawing from his extensive experience in therapy, he sheds light on the challenges faced by individuals dealing with profound sadness and grief. In this compassionate exchange, Brad and host Tina debunk common misconceptions surrounding mental health and explore the complexities of navigating the grieving process. Grief is a unique journey for each person. Tune in as Tina and Brad shed light on the journey through grief and offers guidance and hope to those who may be experiencing loss. Take a step towards healing and discover the transformative power of therapy, self-care, and embracing life again. Thank you for viewing this post. I am not a licensed therapist or professional life coach. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others.  Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/suicide/suicide-prevention-hotlines-resources-worldwide — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Grief, Therapy, And Transformation: Learning Effective Tools For Managing Grief With Brad Taylor My guest in this episode is Brad Taylor, who is a Clinical Director. He is going to allow us to see this depression, grief, and journey from a professional perspective. He brings information where, outside of the hood that I have given you personally, your hood can extend to the professionals that are assisting you, whether it is someone who encourages you, a therapist, a counselor, or a professional coach to be able to heal what other people can do to be part of your hood to help you along your journey in missing the person that you love. Let’s get right into the conversation.     My guest in this episode is Mr. Brad Taylor, the Clinical Director of the New Life Counseling Center. Welcome, Brad. Thank you. I’m honored to be here. Thank you. I am glad to have this opportunity. Up until this point, our conversations have been with my friend and my family, which is my hood. Also, in a broader scope of the hood, I’ve mentioned that I have spent time with a therapist, and most of that time was when I was in Pennsylvania. I’m unable to travel all the way there, but I was connected with Mr. Brad Taylor. It is being able to have him come to this forum, share what that conversation would look like, provide also a spectrum outside of grief that I’m familiar with, and be able to bring that in a different way. I’m glad to have you here. Thank you. I’m excited to be here, Tina. Brad, tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Brad Taylor. I am the owner of the New Life Counseling Center. We are an outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We were established in 2006. We provide services to citizens of Virginia Beach and the surrounding localities. Those services include everything from substance abuse counseling to mental health counseling and pretty much anything that may be connected to those types of services. I know that this show is dealing with grief and, unfortunately, dealing with substance abuse addictions, specifically. I often come across clients who are experiencing some type of grief due to overdose and higher rates of suicide by either family members or people that they know. Unfortunately, it has become a common occurrence for us to have clients that we provide services to who are experiencing grief. I’m excited to be able to talk about this subject because I’m certain that it’s going to be able to resonate and help so many people who may be going through it, struggling, and looking for some way to move forward in their lives. If I’m hearing you correctly, you’re saying that people that come to you, the original part may be because of substance abuse, but as you start unpacking their situation, you find out that the origin of that may have been from their grief. It’s very normal. Unfortunately, I have to keep saying that word because it’s not something that we want any of our clients to experience in their lives. We do an assessment of everyone coming in. It amazes me the number of people that when we are asking about past traumas and things that may be relevant to why they have the diagnosis or why they are having the struggles in life that they have, that’s a very common experience that many of them had. They may have had some type of loss in their life, and a lot of them turn to drugs to cope with that loss as a way of dealing with the emotional pain that comes with losing somebody in your life. It’s not only that in a vacuum because a lot of these clients also have a lot of other things that, in many ways, complicate grief. Some of them may come in organically with some mental health things that get exacerbated when they have the loss. You throw the substance use and addictions on there, and then that makes the grief and these other issues more intense. Often, unfortunately as well, a lot of them have gotten themselves in some type of legal trouble. Here at New Life, I would say 90% of our referrals and clients are people who are mandated. It means they’re on probation or parole. They may be linked up with Child Protective Services, have been court-ordered to be here, an employer might have sent them here, or along those lines. When they come to our services, we do a thorough evaluation. We try to treat the whole person. Unfortunately, as part of us