Understanding the depth of pet loss grief— and how to find your way through it You knew it was coming. Or maybe you didn’t. Either way, nothing really prepares you for the moment your home falls quiet - the click of paws on the floor gone, the weight of a familiar body no longer curled against you. If you’ve lost a beloved animal companion, you already know: this grief is real, and it can be devastating. And yet, people who are grieving a pet often encounter something that co

By Heather Marriatori, PhD, Licensed Psychologist There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from grieving someone who is still alive. If you have watched a parent, spouse, or sibling disappear into dementia - their memories dissolving, their personality shifting, their eyes sometimes looking at you as though you are a stranger - you already know this exhaustion intimately. And if you have then lost that person to death, you may have been surprised to find that the g

The lasting mental health impacts of Operation Metro Surge on Minnesota's communities HM PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES · MARCH 2026 When a crisis officially "ends," communities often breathe a collective sigh of relief. The cameras pull back; the news cycle moves on. But for the therapists and mental health professionals working across Minnesota, the end of Operation Metro Surge is not the end of the story - it is, in many ways, the beginning of a long and difficult chapter. Oper