Grief Isn’t Always Loud. But It Always Deserves a Place to Land.
Welcome to The Things We Carry:
Online group therapy for grief, transitions, and letting go.
Some grief is loud. Some hides in the quiet corners of our lives. All of it deserves care.
Maybe you’re mourning someone you love. Or grieving the version of life you thought you'd have.
Maybe it’s the slow ache of a relationship that changed, the quiet goodbye of a role you left, or the invisible weight of a life transition you didn’t ask for.
You keep moving through your day, showing up for others, doing what needs to be done. But inside, there’s a tenderness that won’t quiet. A sadness that doesn’t clock out. A deep, aching desire to let go—without erasing what mattered.
And it’s so hard to do that alone.
Online Group Therapy for Grief, Transitions, and Letting Go
The Things We Carry
Want to Learn More About How Group Therapy Works?
Explore this blog post from Emily:
Grief Isn’t a Problem to Solve—It’s a Tender Story to Hold (Together)
Grief isn’t always loud. It can show up in the stillness after loss, in the ache of a relationship that’s changed, or in the quiet unraveling of how things used to be. Sometimes it’s caused by death. Sometimes by a thousand tiny goodbyes. Either way, the sorrow is real, and it deserves space to breathe.
This group offers a gentle place to lay down what you’ve been carrying, whether you're grieving a loved one, the loss of a role or relationship, or the turning of a life page you didn’t choose. Through ACT-based support and creative reflection, we’ll explore how to honor what was, make space for what is, and begin to trust the unfolding of what’s next. No fixing, no pressure, just presence, softness, and the slow work of letting go.
You’ll also be invited to engage in guided creative expression to help give form to the feelings that words can’t always reach.
Led by Emily MacNiven, LPC
You don’t have to move on. You just need a place to rest while you move through.
Join when you’re ready—this group has flexible, ongoing enrollment. Covered by most insurance plans.
Day & Time
Tuesdays: 2:30-4:00pm MST
This Group Is for You If…
✔️You're in the middle of a big transition and feel unmoored
✔️You want to make space for sorrow without losing touch with hope
✔️You’re tired of doing this work alone and longing for tender, co-regulating community
✔️You’re holding quiet grief that others may not understand
✔️You're grieving a loved one, relationship, role, or dream
You don’t have to carry it alone. And you don’t have to rush to move on..
This group is a gentle space to lay down what you've been carrying.
Grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), this group offers a structured-yet-soft space for:
Honoring what was, even when no one else sees the loss
Making room for complicated emotions, without judgment
Practicing presence instead of pressure
Exploring how to move forward without forcing closure
Through guided creative expression, you’ll also give shape to feelings words can’t always reach.
No fixing. No timelines. Just presence, softness, and the slow, sacred work of letting go.
*Participant
“For the first time, I feel like someone really gets how my brain works. I can talk about things I used to shut down around, and that’s a huge shift for me.”
*Participant
“You make space for me to show up as a full person, not just a mess to fix. That means more than I can say.”
*Participant
“I’m grateful for how you balance softness with honesty. You don’t sugarcoat, but you don’t shame, and that helps me stay with the hard stuff.”
What if letting go didn’t mean letting yourself down?
You’ve spent so long holding it together, staying strong, or trying to move on the "right" way.
But maybe what you really need isn’t another way to power through the pain, it’s permission to lay it down. Maybe healing doesn’t mean doing more, grieving better, or finding silver linings. Maybe it means allowing yourself to be supported in ways that feel gentle, honest, and real. What if the healing you long for starts not when the grief is gone, but when it’s shared?
That’s exactly what this group offers: a place to honor what’s been lost without losing yourself in the process. This isn’t about closure. It’s about companionship through what can’t be tied up neatly.
You’ll practice:
Letting yourself be supported in your grief without pressure to explain or resolve it
Naming losses that feel invisible or misunderstood
Trusting your pace, your process, and your body’s cues
Reconnecting with what matters—even as you release what was
Sitting in the mystery of what’s next, together
*Participant
“Our sessions help me name what I’ve been carrying underneath the surface. I didn’t realize how much was there until I felt safe enough to explore it.”
*Participant
“This is the first time I’ve had a therapist help me recognize my patterns and believe I can choose something different. It’s empowering.”
*Participant
“I’m learning how to have my own back instead of just pushing through all the time. That’s new for me.”
When you give yourself the chance to be seen, really seen, without judgment or fixing, something shifts.
What's Possible Through Group Therapy
This group creates space for:
✔️Building a gentler relationship with change
✔️Making meaning from what you've lived through
✔️Reclaiming joy without guilt
✔️Living alongside loss, instead of underneath it
✔️Feeling more present and connected in your daily life, even while carrying grief
When grief has room to breathe, so do you.
When you stop carrying it all alone, something shifts. The days may not get easier right away, but you start to feel less hollow. Less hidden. More human.
You may notice moments of unexpected laughter. A little more patience for yourself. A deeper exhale when you’re with others who understand. You might find that your capacity grows, not to rush the healing, but to stay present for it.
Grief will still visit you. But it won’t own you.
Healing isn’t about moving on. It’s about moving forward with softness, courage, and care.
*Participant
“The metaphors you use stay with me. I caught myself reacting differently this week, and it felt like real progress.”
*Participant
“I actually used what we talked about in real life, and I didn’t spiral. I didn’t think that was possible for me before.”
*Participant
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to slow down my thoughts, but the grounding exercise made it feel possible.”
“You reflect things back in a way that helps me see through the chaos. I leave feeling capable, not broken.”
*Participant
What You’ll Walk Away With
By the end of this group, you’ll have:
✨ A deeper connection to your grief story—without judgment
✨ Emotional flexibility to hold both sorrow and possibility
✨ Gentle practices for self-compassion and presence
✨ A sense of community and shared humanity in your grief
✨ Creative reflections to honor your losses in a way that feels true
You’ll learn to move with your grief, not against it. You’ll find steadiness in the in-between. And you’ll begin to trust that release doesn’t mean forgetting.
📅 Weekly Support, Your Way
75-minute telehealth sessions via Simple Practice with rolling enrollment.
📓 Optional Between-Session Support
Use of The Red Door ACT Toolbox + Therapy Companion Journal.
🧠 Real Tools, Real Growth
ACT-based tools and practical exercises to support change between sessions
🧾 Insurance-Friendly
Most plans cover the group. We’ll help verify during your consult.
👥 Intimate, Safe Community
7 people max—so you feel known, not lost in the crowd.
🔒 Private & Secure
Sessions are hosted on HIPAA-compliant Simple Practice with a private link each week
Group therapy and individual therapy serve different but equally important purposes. One is not better than the other, they simply meet different needs.
➕ Individual therapy offers space to focus deeply on your story, your past, and your inner world. You get undivided attention, personalized support, and the freedom to process at your own pace.
➕ Group therapy, on the other hand, brings healing through connection. It gives you a front-row seat to the experience of others—and that can shift something inside. You realize you’re not the only one thinking the way you do. You practice sharing vulnerably and receiving support in real time. You witness what courage looks like in someone else, and begin to embody it yourself.
Many people find that group therapy enriches the work they’re doing individually, giving them more real-life moments to apply their insights, tools, and awareness. You get to move from learning to living.
If you already have a therapist, a group can be a powerful complement. If you’re not in individual therapy, that’s okay too. This space can still be deeply transformative on its own.
Want to Learn More About How Group Therapy Works?
Explore this blog post from Emily: You Don’t Have to Hold It All Alone: Why Group Support Might Be Exactly What You Need
Want to explore the emotional experience behind it all?
Read this blog post from Emily: Is It Burnout or Betrayal? When You Feel Let Down by the Life You’ve Built
Why Group Therapy?
What to Expect in Group
Every group session lasts 75 minutes and is intentionally structured to offer both safety and flexibility. Here’s a general flow so you know what to expect:
🔹 1. Settling In
⏱️ 5–10 min
Gentle check-in or grounding practice
→ No pressure to share
→ Just arrive as you are
🔹 2. Topic Exploration
⏱️ 20–25 min
Guided skill-building or themed discussion
→ ACT, ERP, mindfulness, or self-compassion
→ May include metaphors, reflections, or brief teachings
🔹 3. Group Discussion & Support
⏱️ 30–35 min
Open space to share or listen
→ Explore emotions, thoughts, relationships
→ Where insight and connection deepen
🔹 4. Closing & Integration
⏱️ 5–10 min
Wrap-up with reflection or grounding
→ Gently transition back into daily life
→ Takeaways or intentions to carry forward
💬 Always Your Choice
Speak up. Sit back. Take space. Just be.
Group is capped at 7 people to keep it safe and intimate.
Meet Your Guide
This isn’t just a group, it’s a space to exhale, connect, and grow at your own pace, with guidance that meets you where you are.
Emily MacNiven, LPC, is a therapist, educator, and founder of The Red Door. She brings warmth, wisdom, and realness to every group, not to fix you, but to walk with you. Emily believes that something powerful happens when people come together with honesty and care; group work can soften isolation, spark insight, and remind us we’re not alone in what we carry. Healing doesn’t happen under pressure. It happens in the presence of safety, clarity, compassion, and connection.
With deep experience supporting folks tangled in mental noise, relationship uncertainty, people-pleasing, and identity-level self-doubt, Emily leads with grounded skill and steady gentleness. Her approach blends structure with softness, offering clear tools, meaningful reflection, and space to show up exactly as you are. In her groups, you don’t just learn to manage life. You learn to reclaim it.
Questions?
Safety + FAQs
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Many people come into this with past experiences that made them feel ignored, judged, or like they had to perform to belong.
This group is different.
We take time to build trust, not rush it. You’ll never be forced to share more than you want to. You’ll never be “called out” or put on the spot. Everything we do is rooted in consent, gentleness, and honoring your pace.
The group is intentionally small—just seven people max—and everyone is carefully vetted through a 1:1 intake process to ensure the space stays emotionally safe and affirming. If something doesn’t feel right, we talk about it. If you need to pause or regroup, that’s welcome too.
You’re not entering a room full of strangers. You’re stepping into a space where real humans show up with softness, courage, and care.
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Yes. Most people haven’t. We ease in gently. No pressure, and no need to share until it feels right for you.
Many people find that even just listening, hearing others name what you’ve been feeling, can be powerful and healing. -
You don’t need a formal label. If you find yourself stuck in spirals of overthinking, reassurance-seeking, or relationship doubt—this is a space that understands.
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This group offers rolling enrollment, so you can start whenever you're ready. There’s no fixed end date, and you're welcome to attend as many sessions as feel helpful. Most folks attend weekly 75-minute sessions to build momentum, but we’ll work together to find a rhythm that honors your energy, schedule, and capacity. You can also schedule a free 20-minute consult to see if it’s a fit.
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We start with a free consultation and a one-on-one intake session to get to know you and your goals. If this group isn’t the best match, we’ll connect you with another offering that better meets your needs.
Getting Started Is Simple
✅ Step 1: Schedule Your Free Consult
Book a no-pressure, 20-minute video call to see if this group is the right fit for you.
🎧 Step 2: Join a Private Intake Session
Meet one-on-one for a 60-minute intake to talk through your goals, needs, and how group support can help.
💬 Step 3: Begin Group When You’re Ready
If it’s a good fit, you’ll join the group and start your journey. If not, we’ll help you connect with one of our other supportive offerings.
Everything’s online. All you need is a quiet-ish space and a willingness to show up. Pajamas welcome. 🧦💻
💸 Payment Details
Most insurance plans cover group therapy.
We’ll help verify your benefits during your consult and let you know your weekly co-pay.
*These reflections are representative of common themes shared in individual and group sessions and are not direct client testimonials.
Take the next step
Ready to Join—or Just Exploring?
Whether you’re all in or still figuring things out, the next step is the same: fill out the form below. I’ll reach out personally to answer your questions, help verify your insurance if needed, and guide you through what comes next, whether that’s scheduling your intake session or simply starting a conversation.
No pressure, no rush, just real support, at the pace that works best for you.