Animal Loss and Grief Support Group
When: Tuesday
Time: 6-7 PM
Where: via Zoom/Drop-in
Suggested donation: $5-10 per weekly session. Donations welcome but no one turned away due to lack of funds
To join contact: groups@liberationinstitute.org
Description: This group is dedicated to honoring the deep bonds we share with our animal friends and the profound impact they have on our lives. The loss of an animal companion can be deeply painful, and yet often misunderstood or minimized by others. People often tell us things like “just get another pet,” leaving many feeling unseen in their grief. This group offers a safe, compassionate space to honor and process animal-specific grief – a very real and often invalidated form of loss. Whether you’ve lost a beloved companion animal, you are experiencing anticipatory grief for a companion animal, or you work in a setting where animal loss or euthanasia is part of the job – such as veterinary care, animal shelters, or rescue organizations – you are welcome here. Guided by two compassionate therapists who have also experienced the pain of animal loss, this group offers a safe, supportive space to process animal-specific grief – a form of loss that deserves to be seen, validated, and supported. Through guided discussions, somatic experiencing and therapeutic exercises participants can share memories, explore emotions, and utilize tools that promote resilience. You’ll have the opportunity to connect with others who truly understand what it means to lose animal friends – and to be reminded that your grief is valid, your bond was real, and you are not alone.
Facilitators: Steve Dumain & Roxanne Adli
Steve “Dumain” is pursuing his Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. He currently serves as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee at the Liberation Institute, providing telehealth therapy for individuals, couples, and groups across California. His clinical orientation draws from various styles, including depth, somatic and family systems psychology; including trauma-informed practices, and mindfulness-based approaches. His work emphasizes the integration of the unconscious, body awareness, and relational healing to foster self-understanding and resilience and a mindset of growth and wisdom. He is particularly interested in working with clients navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, identity development, and relational issues. With a strong commitment to inclusivity and social justice, Steven aims to support individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and identities through an integrative and compassionate therapeutic approach.
Roxanne is a therapist trainee currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, with specific interests in trauma healing, attachment wounds, and healthy relationships. Guided by a trauma-informed approach, she is deeply interested in how trauma and early relationships with caregivers shape our understanding of self, our ways of connecting, and the types of relationships we form with others. She seeks to help clients uncover the root causes or traumas underneath their behaviors and feelings so that healing can come from a place of genuine understanding, self-knowledge, and self-awareness. In sessions, she strives to create a gentle, healing, safe, trusting, and compassionate space where clients feel deeply seen and supported as they journey toward growth, self-awareness, and wellness. In this space, she seeks to help people reconnect with their authentic selves so they can grow in wisdom and find their inner strength, capacity, and drive for meaningful change and growth.
