Grief Counseling in Wilmington, NC - You Don't Have to Carry This Alone
Licensed, compassionate grief counselors serving Wilmington and the Cape Fear coast - support for bereavement, sudden loss, pregnancy loss, pet loss, and prolonged grief. No timeline, no pressure. In-person and telehealth available.
Request an Appointment
Free 15-min consultation - no commitment needed.
Grief Isn't a Problem to Be Fixed on a Timeline
Grief isn't a disorder, and it isn't something to get over on a schedule. But sometimes it becomes complicated - it intensifies instead of softening, it takes over daily functioning, or it carries dimensions like trauma, guilt, or ambiguity that need clinical attention alongside compassionate space.
Grief counseling at Fresh Breath Therapy offers both things loss requires: the unhurried, compassionate presence that grief needs, and evidence-based clinical support for the moments when grief needs more than time - when it's tangled with trauma, guilt, or an ambiguity that has no closure.
We will never push you toward "moving on," and healing here doesn't mean forgetting. It means finding a way to carry this that doesn't take everything you have. You set the pace, always.
Reach Out When You're Ready →
Losses We Support in Wilmington
All forms of loss deserve support - including the ones people around you don't recognize as losses at all.
Death of a Spouse, Parent, or Sibling
The losses that reorganize your whole life - identity, routine, household, and the future you'd assumed. Support for as long as you need it.
Loss of a Child
The loss that no framework prepares anyone for. Gentle, patient support that doesn't rush you and doesn't pretend to have answers.
Sudden & Traumatic Death
Accidents, violence, and unexpected deaths that leave trauma alongside grief - we address both, at whatever pace feels safe for you.
Suicide Loss
Grief carrying its own weight of guilt, anger, unanswerable questions, and stigma. This loss deserves support that names it plainly.
Pregnancy Loss, Miscarriage & Infant Loss
Losses the world often minimizes and expects you to move past quickly. Here they're treated as the full losses they are.
Anticipatory Grief & Caregiver Loss
Mourning that starts before the death - during a terminal diagnosis or a long decline - and the exhaustion and guilt caregivers carry afterwards.
Prolonged & Complicated Grief
When grief intensifies instead of softening, takes over daily functioning, or stays acute long past what feels bearable.
Disenfranchised Grief
Pet loss, estrangement, loss through addiction, a friendship ending - grief that others minimize but that is entirely real.
Loss Alongside Substance Use
Grief after a death from addiction, and grief that leads to drinking or using to cope - both supported here, including by clinicians trained in co-occurring care.
Compassionate, Evidence-Based Grief Support
Grief work is mostly presence and pacing. Where clinical structure genuinely helps, we bring these approaches in - never to speed you up.
Compassion-Focused Grief Work
Grief often arrives tangled with guilt and self-blame. This work builds a kinder internal voice so mourning doesn't have to be carried alongside self-punishment.
Meaning-Making & Continuing Bonds
Healing doesn't mean letting go. We help you find a way to carry the relationship forward - in memory, ritual, and identity - rather than leaving it behind.
Grief-Focused CBT
For the thoughts that keep grief stuck - "I should have known," "I could have stopped it" - and the avoidance that quietly narrows your life around the loss.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Make room for the grief instead of fighting it, and slowly reconnect with what still matters to you - without pretending the loss didn't happen.
Support for Prolonged Grief
When grief intensifies rather than softens over time, structured therapeutic support helps loosen what's stuck - while still honouring what you lost.
Trauma-Informed Loss Care
Sudden, violent, or traumatic deaths leave both grief and trauma. We address the traumatic imprint alongside the mourning, at whatever pace feels safe.
Your First Session: What to Expect
Why Wilmington Trusts Us With Grief Support
No Timeline Imposed
We won't tell you where you should be by now. Grief work here moves at the pace your particular loss requires.
Space Plus Clinical Depth
Compassionate presence when that's what's needed, and structured clinical support when guilt, trauma, or stuck grief is making this heavier.
Grief Alongside Substance Use
With Cay Fulop, LCSW, LCAS on our Wilmington team, grief tangled with drinking or using can be addressed together rather than separately.
Insurance & Self-Pay
We accept major insurance plans including BCBS, Aetna, Cigna, and United Health. Call us to verify your specific benefits before your first appointment.
No Long Waitlists
Fresh loss shouldn't wait six weeks for an opening. We work hard to offer rapid access - often same-week.
Telehealth Statewide
On the hard days, leaving the house is a lot to ask. Sessions are available from home anywhere in North Carolina.
Serving Wilmington, Leland, Hampstead & the Cape Fear Coast
Our Wilmington therapy office is located at 140 Cinema Drive, Unit E - easily accessible from across Wilmington and nearby communities including Leland, Hampstead, Carolina Beach, and Brunswick and Pender Counties. Telehealth available statewide.
In Wilmington you'll work with Lisa McCormick, LCMHC, who helps kids, teens, and adults through worry, fear, and hard life events using CBT and mindfulness; Catherine (Cay) Fulop, LCSW, LCAS, whose work spans trauma, addiction, and co-occurring concerns; Shelby Paske, LCMHCA, supporting adolescents and adults through life transitions; Kailyn Mattingly, LCSWA; and Jenna McGinnis, LCSWA, a trauma-informed therapist supporting children, teens, and families through loss and life transitions.
Each therapist is licensed, supervised, and committed to the highest standards of ethical, compassionate care. Sessions are available Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 7 PM.
Book Your Appointment →Meet the Wilmington Team
Our five licensed clinicians in Wilmington walk alongside clients through loss, life transitions, and the seasons that reshape everything.
Lisa McCormick
Client-centered counselor helping kids, adolescents, teens, and adults navigate worry, fear, trauma, and hard life events with CBT, mindfulness, and coping strategies.
Catherine (Cay) Fulop
Experienced addiction specialist providing comprehensive support for trauma, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, and recovery.
Shelby Paske
Compassionate counselor creating a supportive space for adolescents and adults navigating anxiety, depression, neurodiversity, and life transitions.
Jenna McGinnis
Trauma-informed therapist supporting children, teens, families, and young adults through loss, life transitions, anxiety, and depression.
Kailyn Mattingly
Compassionate therapist creating warm, welcoming environments for anxiety, depression, and personal growth.
Serving These Needs Across Wilmington & the Cape Fear Region
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I need grief counseling or if I just need time?+
Time helps most grief soften - not disappear, but become carryable. Counseling makes sense when it isn't softening, when daily functioning has stopped, when guilt or trauma is dominating the grief, or simply when you'd rather not do this alone. You don't need to be in crisis to deserve support.
Is pet loss grief "real"? Will you take it seriously?+
Yes, completely. For many people a pet is a daily companion and a source of unconditional attachment, and the loss is genuinely disorienting. That it gets minimized elsewhere is exactly why it belongs in a place where it won't be.
Can grief counseling help with pregnancy loss and miscarriage?+
Yes, and it's a loss that too often goes unacknowledged. There may have been no funeral and few people who knew, which can leave you grieving something the world treats as minor. Here it's treated as the real loss it is - including the grief a partner carries.
What is prolonged grief, and can it be treated?+
Prolonged grief is grief that stays intense and disabling long past the early period - persistent yearning, difficulty accepting the death, and life narrowing around the loss. It responds to structured therapeutic support, and treating it doesn't mean loving the person less.
Does grief counseling mean "moving on" or forgetting them?+
No - and we'd push back on that framing. The goal isn't to close the relationship; it's to find a way to carry it. Meaning-making and continuing-bonds work is specifically about keeping the person present in your life in a way that doesn't crush you.
Do you serve Leland, Brunswick County, and Pender County?+
Yes. Our Wilmington office on Cinema Drive serves clients from throughout the Cape Fear region, including Leland, Brunswick County, Hampstead, Carolina Beach, and Pender County. Telehealth is also available anywhere in North Carolina.
You Don't Have to Carry This Alone
There's no right time to reach out and no timeline you're behind on. When you're ready, our Wilmington team is here. Start with a free 15-minute consultation, no commitment required.