Bobbi Emel

Bobbi Emel, MFT is a psychotherapist in Los Altos, Ca. Her own experience with grief after losing her partner to breast cancer resulted in her passion to help others build resilience in their lives, including how to walk the path of grief peacefully. She blogs about resiliency at http://www.bobbiemel.com/blog

Articles:

Cat Offers Solace in the Grieving Years

After my partner, Ruth, died in 2004, I found solace in a most unusual source, our sixteen-year-old calico cat, Daisy. Now, I know pets are often a great source of comfort to us, but Daisy was special. She was blind. I always thought I would need to take care of her after she suddenly lost her sight when she was about fifteen. “Sometimes this just happens to older cats,” our vet had said at the time, shrugging her shoulders. But Daisy didn’t really need any extra care. When I moved shortly after Ruth died, my cousin and I taught Daisy […]

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Are You Grieving Right? Yes!

The 27-year-old young woman had called for an appointment because her father died six months ago. Now she sat across from me, squirming slightly on the comfortable suede sofa in my office. I asked how I could help her. She fidgeted a bit more, looking down at her hands. “What I want to know is . . .” she started off slowly and then rushed into the rest of the question, “Am I grieving right?” My client’s question was a valid one considering that the prevailing concept of grief continues to be that there are “stages” one must go through in order to […]

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Regaining the Bounce

I played basketball when I was younger and occasionally even now, I enjoy going out and shooting some baskets. I love the feel of the leather and the springy sound of the ball as it hits the pavement and jumps into my waiting hands. If I haven’t played for awhile, though, sometimes I get the ball out of the garage, and when I push it down for that first eagerly-anticipated bounce, it produces a dull thud and lies there on the pavement. No air. The ball is totally flat. Life can be like that, too. Several years ago, after my […]

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