Grief therapy in NYC for the loss you are still carrying
People look for grief therapy in NYC at very different moments: weeks after a funeral, a year later when everyone else has moved on, or on a random Tuesday when a smell or a song knocks the wind out of them.
Grief doesn't follow a neat set of stages. It comes in waves, it mixes love with guilt and anger, and it can make you feel like you are going slightly mad. If you are an immigrant or a child of immigrants, it may be complicated by distance — a parent who died in another country, a funeral you couldn't reach in time, rituals you were too far away to share. Rubina offers a space to grieve properly, at your own pace, without being told to stay strong.
- LCSW
- CASAC-2
- Author of Stop Being Okay
- Urdu · Hindi · Punjabi
- In person in NYC
- Online across New York
How grief shows up for the people Rubina sees
These are composites, not real clients.
The phone call from home
A woman in Queens got the call at 4 a.m. Her father had died in Lahore. By the time she landed, the burial had already happened, as custom required. Back in New York, colleagues sent flowers and expected her at work on Monday. She feels like she never got to say goodbye, and nobody here understands why it still hurts so much.
The caregiver
A man spent three years caring for his mother through her illness. When she died, he felt relief, and then terrible guilt for feeling relief. He doesn't know who he is now that his days are not organized around her care.
The quiet loss
A couple lost a pregnancy. Their families never mention it, and they have stopped mentioning it to each other. The grief has gone underground and is showing up as distance between them.
Rubina's approach to grief
Rubina doesn't try to move you through grief faster. The work is about giving the loss enough room that it stops ambushing you. That might mean telling the story of the death in detail, talking about the relationship as it really was — including the hard parts — or creating rituals that fit your life now.
When grief is tangled with guilt, unfinished conversations or a traumatic death, she may use approaches such as cognitive processing therapy or trauma-focused CBT to help you work through the images and thoughts that keep returning. Mindfulness and self-compassion practices help on the days when the waves are high.
There is no right way to grieve. Some people cry every day; others feel strangely numb and wonder what is wrong with them. Some want to talk about the person constantly, and some can barely say their name. All of it is normal, and therapy meets you wherever you are in it.
Culture and faith matter here. Some clients want to talk about prayers, mourning periods and what their tradition teaches about death. Others feel distant from those rituals and grieve that too. Rubina follows your lead. She also understands the particular grief of the diaspora: losing grandparents you barely knew, losing parents across oceans and losing the version of home that existed while they were alive.
What can change over 8 to 12 sessions
Grief doesn't end on a schedule, and the goal isn't to forget. Over a few months, clients often find:
- The waves still come, but they knock you over less often
- You can think about the person without only seeing the last days
- Guilt softens into something closer to regret and love
- You have a way of marking anniversaries and holidays that feels right
- You can talk to your partner, siblings or children about the loss
- You notice if grief has turned into depression and know what to do about it
What sessions look like
Grief sessions are 50 minutes. Rubina sees clients in person in New York City and online across New York State, which helps when grief has drained your energy or when you are traveling back and forth to family.
You can speak in English, Urdu, Hindi or Punjabi — sometimes the words for the person you lost only exist in another language. Families grieving together can also come for family therapy. See the fees page for rates.
Rubina K. Singh, LCSW, CASAC-2
Rubina has spent more than fifteen years in mental health. She holds a BSW from Rutgers, an MSW from Capella and is completing her doctorate in social work. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York, a CASAC Level 2 addiction counselor, and the author of Stop Being Okay. She grew up between cultures, and she speaks English, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.
Questions people ask
Is it too soon, or too late, to start grief counseling?
Neither. Some people come in the first weeks; others come years later when grief resurfaces. Whenever it feels heavy enough to want help is the right time.
My parent died abroad and I couldn't be there. Can therapy help with that?
Yes. Grieving from a distance, missing the funeral or rituals, and feeling cut off from family who mourned together are things Rubina works with often. Together you can find ways to say the goodbye you didn't get to say.
Is it normal to feel relief or anger after someone dies?
Yes. Grief often includes feelings people are ashamed of, especially after a long illness or a complicated relationship. Therapy is a place where you can say them out loud without judgment.
Do you work with grief other than death?
Yes — divorce, pregnancy loss, estrangement from family, losing a home country or a career. Loss is loss, even when nobody sends flowers.
Can my family come to grief sessions together?
Yes. Family sessions can help when people grieve differently and start to misunderstand each other. Rubina will make sure each person gets space.
Last reviewed October 13, 2026 by Rubina K. Singh, LCSW
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