Alexandria Bleich, LPC

Headshot of Alexandria Bleich

Brave Healer since 2021

Being an Adult Carrying Grief Isn’t What Anyone Prepares You For

Maybe you lost a parent when you were young, and now years or even decades later, the grief is hitting you in ways you never expected. Whether you’re getting married and their absence feels unbearable, or you’re becoming a parent yourself and grieving the grandparent your child will never know, grief has an incredible ability to resurface. It seems no one prepares us for outliving the age your parent was when they died, and that feels surreal and complicated.

Or maybe the loss is more recent, or hasn’t even happened yet. A cancer diagnosis, whether your own or a loved one’s, has completely turned your world upside down. You’re navigating anticipatory grief, that heavy feeling of grieving someone who’s still here but facing a life-limiting illness. Or you’re supporting someone through treatment and the emotional roller coaster is exhausting.

Perhaps anxiety has taken over. It’s like being in a state of constant worry or hypervigilance, that comes from learning early on that bad things can happen. We can start to live on edge, constantly fearing losing someone else, and experience panic that surfaces when life feels uncertain. Maybe your anxiety and grief are deeply intertwined and you can’t untangle where one ends and the other begins.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need to apologize for still grieving years later. You don’t need to minimize what you’re going through.

Being a Teen Today Isn’t What It Used to Be

The teenage and emerging adult years have always been challenging. These years are all about figuring out who you are, where you fit, planning for a future that feels both exciting and terrifying. But today’s teens are navigating something entirely different. They’re dealing with body image pressures amplified by social media, identity questions around sexuality and gender that previous generations never had language for, anxiety that can feel completely overwhelming, and a digital world that can feel both connecting and isolating at the same time.

And for some teens, there’s an added layer of complexity: navigating grief. Maybe you’re watching a parent battle cancer, and are trying to navigate the complex feelings of anticipatory grief that comes with this battle. Maybe you’ve already lost a parent and are trying to figure out how to grow up without them. Maybe you feel different from your peers whose families look intact, and nobody really gets what you’re going through.

Or maybe grief isn’t part of your story, but anxiety is. The social anxiety that makes every interaction feel draining. The academic stress and perfectionism that’s exhausting you. The panic that shows up in your body and won’t let you breathe. The constant worry that keeps you up at night.

This is where I come in.

Hi, I’m Alex (She/Her)

An LGBTQ Therapist in Scotch Plains, NJ

I’m a proud intersectional Feminist, Advocate, and Ally who specializes in walking alongside teens and adults through some of life’s most challenging experiences: anxiety, identity formation, and grief.

I believe in the power of self-identity and understand that who we are: our race, gender, sexuality, religion, socioeconomic background —profoundly shapes our mental health and lived experience. I also know firsthand that grief can reshape our entire world and worldviews. 

I lost my dad at a young age. I remember desperately wishing I could talk to somebody who truly understood—not just sympathized, but had actually walked that path. Now I have the privilege of being that person for others navigating the same journey, and it feels full circle in a really meaningful way.

Before asking you to share your identity with me, let me introduce part of mine. I am a Latina, cisgender, heterosexual woman who has lived experience with parental loss. If you feel comfortable, I hope to learn more about your identity too. Because therapy works best when it starts with real connection.

Walking Through the Forest of Grief

Grief is a universal human experience that each of us will face at some point, yet how we move through it can look totally different from person to person. While grief can feel incredibly lonely, it is not a journey you have to take by yourself.

Grief expert David Kessler describes grief as a forest, and a grief therapist as a forest ranger. My role is not to tell you which path to take, but to offer a steady light as you navigate the dark forest of loss, and to walk alongside you as you find your way.

With experience supporting clients through parental loss, chronic illness and cancer diagnoses, anticipatory grief, and pet loss, I am committed to walking with you through this forest and helping you find meaning in an experience that can feel profoundly meaningless.

My Specializations as a Grief Counselor in NJ: 

Parental Loss Across the Lifespan

  • Children and teens who have lost a parent
  • Adults grieving a parent lost in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood
  • Navigating milestones without them (graduations, weddings, becoming a parent yourself)
  • The unique experience of grieving someone who shaped your entire world
  • Grief that resurfaces decades later in unexpected ways

Cancer-Related Grief

  • Supporting individuals facing their own cancer diagnosis
  • Family members and friends supporting loved ones through cancer treatment
  • Anticipatory grief—grieving while someone is still here but facing a life-limiting illness
  • Navigating the emotional roller coaster of treatment, remission, and uncertainty
  • Processing the complex emotions that come with cancer’s impact on identity, relationships, and future plans
  • The anxiety that accompanies cancer—both for patients and their loved ones

Teens and Young Adults Grieving

  • Losing a parent during the already complicated teenage years
  • Watching a parent battle serious illness while trying to maintain “normal” teenage life
  • Feeling different from peers whose families look intact
  • Managing grief while also managing school, friendships, and identity development
  • The anger, guilt, sadness, and confusion that comes with being young and facing loss

 

Check out my Episode on Brave Minds: Healing Anxiety and Trauma 

 

Anxiety Specialization: When Worry Takes Over

Anxiety doesn’t always announce itself with panic attacks. Sometimes it’s the constant worry that keeps you up at night. Sometimes it’s the perfectionism that’s exhausting you. Sometimes it’s the social anxiety that makes every interaction feel draining. Sometimes it’s the hypervigilance that came from learning too young that the world isn’t safe.

I work with teens and adults experiencing:

  • Generalized anxiety and chronic worry
  • Social anxiety and friendship stress
  • Panic attacks and physical symptoms of anxiety
  • Academic or work-related stress and perfectionism
  • Anxiety related to life transitions, relationships, or uncertainty
  • Anxiety that’s intertwined with grief and loss
  • The unique anxiety that comes with navigating identity, sexuality, or gender

We work together to understand where your anxiety comes from, what it’s trying to protect you from, and how to develop tools that actually work for your life—not just generic advice that sounds good but doesn’t help.

How I Work With Adult and Teen Clients in NJ

Meeting You Where You Are

I don’t do traditional “sit on the couch and tell me how that makes you feel” therapy unless that’s what works for you. Some people (especially teens) open up while creating art. Others process better through natural, flowing conversation. The therapeutic journey we take together moves at your pace, not mine.

Helping You Recognize Your Existing Strengths

Here’s something most people don’t realize: you already have a toolbox of coping strategies. You’ve been using these tools your whole life to manage stress, sadness, frustration, and anxiety. My job isn’t to give you a brand new set of tools—it’s to help you recognize what’s already working and expand your options.

This is especially true for those navigating grief. You’re already doing the incredibly hard work of continuing to live while carrying this loss. We work together to build awareness around your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. We explore the mind-body connection and how relationships shape your experience. The goal? Empowering you to access your tools not just in my office, but in your real life.

A Collaborative Approach

I believe therapy works best as a collaboration between you (and when appropriate, your family) and me. My approach is eclectic, meaning I customize therapy to each individual client.

For some, that looks like expressive art or play therapy. For others, it resembles more traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) techniques. For those navigating grief, we might focus on meaning-making, building rituals to honor your loved one, or processing the waves of emotions that come and go.

We work through the layers together. The aim is to help you develop deeper awareness and understanding so you can reach your full potential—even while carrying loss, managing anxiety, or exploring who you’re becoming.

Your Story Matters

I think of identity as your story. Like any story, there are many chapters—your values, interests, purpose, gender, sexuality, race, background, experiences, losses. Every person’s story is unique and deserving of being heard, understood, and honored.

Whether you’re an adult whose grief has resurfaced decades later, or a teen trying to figure out who you are while navigating anxiety or loss, or someone in the thick of supporting a loved one through cancer, or simply someone who needs help managing the worry that’s taken over your life—I look forward to learning about your story and empowering you with the skills and words to tell it authentically.

You don’t have to walk through the forest alone. I’m here to be your forest ranger.

 

My Credentials as a New Jersey Counselor 

Certified Grief Educator - By David Kessler Grief.com

As a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Grief Educator, I have completed my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Monmouth University as well as the required hours of supervision. I am fully licensed in the state of NJ to provide psychotherapy.

While in my Master’s program, I completed two internships in a college counseling center, providing therapy to young adults. I completed my final clinical internship at a Behavioral Health Group where I worked with children and teens. It was through these experiences that I developed a passion for working with children, adolescent, and young adult clients.

My lived experience with parental loss at a young age has profoundly shaped my clinical work. Finding meaning in my own grief journey has allowed me to become a specialized grief therapist who truly understands what it means to carry loss across a lifetime.

I work with:

NJ# 37PC001017200