Healing After the Loss of a Pet: How Pet Loss Therapy Can Support You
When a beloved pet dies, it can feel like your heart has been pulled out of your chest. The daily rituals, morning walks, cuddle time, feeding routines, are suddenly gone. What’s left is an ache that doesn’t seem to go away.
Many of my clients come to me saying, “I didn’t expect it to hurt this much.”
If you’ve recently lost a pet and are wondering what to do next, how to manage the heaviness, or if what you're feeling is "normal," I want you to know: your grief is valid. Your pain is real. You are not alone.
Pet loss therapy offers a compassionate, nonjudgmental space to work through the emotional weight of losing your animal companion and to begin to heal.
What Is Pet Loss Therapy?
Pet loss therapy is a specialized form of grief support that helps you process the complex and often overlooked emotions that come after the death of a pet. Whether your loss was recent or happened years ago, this work can help you make peace with the pain and reconnect with your memories without being overwhelmed by them.
At The Guides Holistic Therapies, we offer in-person pet loss therapy in San Diego, with locations in La Jolla and Pacific Beach. Because processing grief on a screen isn’t for everyone, these calming, private spaces are intentionally designed to support deep emotional work.
For those outside the area or who prefer the comfort of their home, virtual sessions are also available. No matter where you are, support is within reach.
What to Expect from the 6-Session Pet Loss Grief Recovery Method
Our approach is grounded in the Grief Recovery Institute’s evidence-based framework and tailored specifically for pet loss. In six structured sessions, we guide you through:
A clear understanding of grief and how it uniquely shows up after pet loss
Gentle exercises to uncover unresolved emotions and unspoken goodbyes
Supportive guidance as you move through guilt, sadness, anger, or numbness
A safe space to be seen, heard, and supported without pressure to "move on"
Emotional resolution that allows you to remember your pet with more love than pain
A sense of peace and completion, honoring the deep bond you shared
This work is not about forgetting. It’s about finding relief from the emotional pain that may still feel stuck, and making space for healing.
Book a Wellness Consultation
Starting can be the hardest part. That’s why we offer a 45-minute wellness consultation—a time for you to share your story, feel into the support available, and ask any questions. You’ll walk away with a personalized recommendation for how to move forward.
Benefits of a Wellness Consultation:
Understand where you are in your grief
Learn whether the 6-session program is a good fit
Explore alternative therapeutic tools such as energy work or breathwork
Get clarity on what healing could look like for you
If you're in San Diego, you’re welcome to visit us in our La Jolla or Pacific Beach spaces. If you’re based elsewhere, or prefer online support, virtual consultations are available.
You Deserve Support
The loss of a pet is one of the most profound forms of grief we can experience. And yet, it’s often dismissed or misunderstood by the world around us. If you're suffering in silence, please know that support is available and healing is possible.
Pet loss therapy can help you reconnect to yourself, your memories, and your peace.
Book your wellness consultation today
Read our reviews from other pet parents who completed the 6-session program
Let your next step be one of healing
