GRIEF COUNSELORS IN BERKELEY & OAKLAND
Find Relief from the Weight of Grief
Compassionate, trauma-informed therapy at Evergreen Counseling. Space to process loss at your own pace without pressure to “fix” how you feel.
Current openings available. Out-of-network practice (we can assist with filing for reimbursement).
Find your grief counselor
If this sounds like you, grief therapy at Evergreen can help
- Your grief keeps showing up when you don’t expect it: A song, a place, an anniversary, or a seemingly ordinary moment can bring everything back. Sometimes you know exactly what set it off. Other times, it seems to come out of nowhere.
- You’re trying to function while carrying on with “normal life”: Work still needs to get done. People still need things from you. Life keeps moving, even on days when getting through the basics takes more energy than you have.
- The people around you have started moving on: There may be people who care about you deeply, but it can feel like everyone else has returned to normal while your life still feels fundamentally different.
- You’re not sure what you’re supposed to do with your grief: Part of you wants to feel better. Another part may wonder what “better” even means or worry that moving forward somehow means leaving behind the person, relationship, or life you lost.
Grief doesn’t have to follow a timeline
Grief is rarely just sadness. It can affect your relationships, concentration, sleep, sense of identity, and even how you imagine your future. And it doesn’t only follow the death of someone you love. Grief can come with the loss of a relationship, a pregnancy, your health, a pet, a community, or a version of life you expected to have.
Therapy gives you a place to make sense of what you’re experiencing without having to manage anyone else’s reaction to it. With Jonathan or Crystal, you can talk openly about what you’ve lost, understand how grief is affecting you now, and begin finding ways to carry it that leave room for the rest of your life, too.
Grief doesn’t follow a timeline, so there’s no expectation to move faster than you’re ready for. You set the pace
Meet Your Grief Counselors
Crystal Cooper, AFMT
Crystal brings a warm, collaborative approach to grief therapy, along with experience supporting people through crisis, trauma, and major life transitions. She creates space for whatever your grief brings up while helping you understand what you need now and find ways to move forward at a pace that feels right for you.
Schedule a free 20-minute call with Crystal
Jonathan Wolfrum, LMFT
Jonathan brings more than nine years of experience as a therapist to his work with grief and loss. His approach is thoughtful, exploratory, and non-judgmental, helping you understand what you’re experiencing without telling you how you’re supposed to feel. Together, you can make space for your grief while figuring out what moving forward looks like for you.
Schedule a free 20-minute call with JonathanWhat Our Clients Say
I had an amazing journey with my therapist at Evergreen Counseling in Berkeley. She was professional and friendly and welcoming and comforting. All of which I needed after the death of my husband. As we worked together she also helped me process a series of traumatic events that had been causing me huge pain. And even though I had been in therapy before, our work together went deeper, and really brought healing. My relationships have improved and my confidence is much stronger.
Frequently Asked Questions
Grief can look very different from person to person. You may feel intense sadness, anger, guilt, numbness, relief, anxiety, or even periods when you feel completely okay. There isn’t one correct way to grieve. If what you’re experiencing is difficult to carry on your own or is interfering with your everyday life, therapy can give you a place to work through it.
Grief therapy isn’t only for the death of a loved one. Jonathan and Crystal can support people grieving the loss of a partner, parent, child, friend, pregnancy, pet, relationship, job, health, or another significant change or loss. During your free consultation, you can share a little about what you’re experiencing and ask whether grief therapy feels appropriate for you.
Evergreen Counseling is an out-of-network practice. If your plan includes out-of-network benefits, our team handles claim submissions for you so you can receive any reimbursement available through your plan. We provide clear pricing upfront and offer Good Faith Estimates before you book.
Only if you prefer in-person sessions. Our Berkeley office on Shattuck is a quick BART ride or about a 15-minute drive from downtown Oakland. Telehealth appointments are also available across California. Note: Only Crystal is available for in-person sessions.
It’s a low-pressure conversation where you can share a little about what brings you to therapy, ask questions, and get a feel for whether Jonathan or Crystal is the right fit. There’s no obligation to schedule a session afterward.
Your first session gives you more time to talk about what you’ve experienced, how your loss is affecting you now, and what you hope therapy can help with. You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you want to say or what you need. Your therapist will help guide the conversation, and you can take it at your own pace.
Ready to take the next step?
Schedule Your Free 20-Minute Consult Call
The 20-minute consultation is a relaxed, low-pressure space to connect with our Intake Director, Jennifer. You can share what brings you to therapy, ask questions about our approach, and find the right therapist match based on your needs and availability. No payment or long-term commitment required.