Lena Whitfield

Hi, I'm Lena. I work with people moving through grief, chronic illness, and the kind of major health transitions that upend a life overnight — a diagnosis, a caregiving role you didn't choose, a body that suddenly works differently than it used to. I also see a lot of clients in the thick of a difficult pregnancy, postpartum period, or fertility journey. I came to this work after several years in medical social work at a hospital, so I'm comfortable with the practical and the emotional at the same time — happy to talk through how to have a hard conversation with a doctor and how to sit with the grief underneath it.

My style blends mindfulness-based approaches with straightforward grief and health psychology frameworks. I don't believe grief is something to 'get through' on a schedule, so we won't rush it — but I will help you build the daily-functioning skills you need while it's still heavy. I bring in breathing and grounding techniques often, not as an add-on but because a dysregulated nervous system makes everything else harder to work on. Expect some quiet in our sessions; I'm not afraid of it.