Built on the belief that no one should grieve alone

The Founder

Melissa Young, LCPC

I started the Illinois Grief Center because I kept noticing the same problem: people who had been to therapy before, who had talked it out, but still felt stuck in their grief. They needed something more structured and specialized.

I work with adolescents, adults, and seniors who are navigating grief or loss and find that it's seeping into every part of their life. Whether the loss is recent or something you've been dealing with for a long time, you deserve support that actually helps you process it.

I founded the Illinois Grief Center to meet a growing need: a specialized, evidence-based grief therapy model that helps you feel better predictably and reliably. As demand continues to grow, we're expanding our team of clinicians who each bring deep expertise in grief, trauma, and loss.

Grief can show up as exhaustion, emotional overwhelm, shutdown, numbness, guilt, anger, or feeling like you're stuck in a loop of thinking that you can't get out of. You might be replaying what happened, avoiding certain thoughts or memories because you don’t want the tears to ruin your day, or questioning who you are now that life feels so different. I will help you work through the patterns that keep the grief unresolved and guide you toward finding your way back home to yourself.