Looking for a grief/crisis child counselor in Austin

December 19, 2017 7:51 AM

My 16 year old daughters boyfriend unexpectedly passed away Sunday morning.

My daughter is in a terrible and awful place. I need to find a grief/crisis counselor for her. I’m making calls and stuff but so far no one has any availability.

If anyone has any advice on how to help her through this while we search or knows of any counselors that may be able to help please let me know (you can PM me here if you don’t want to publicly comment).

posted by Annika Cicada to Human Relations (10 answers total)

Have you reached out to her guidance counselor or your pediatrician? They are experienced with referring to the local adolescent mental health therapists or counselors and likely have preferences with those they have good experiences with.
posted by IndigoOnTheGo at 7:59 AM on December 19, 2017 [6 favorites]

Best answer: The Austin Center for Grief and Loss offers services specifically for children and pre-teens/teens (scroll down a little).

Peace to you and your daughter and both the families involved.
posted by anastasiav at 8:19 AM on December 19, 2017 [8 favorites]

I second her school counselor or her pediatrician. (Or really, any pediatrician, if she doesn't have a regular one.) They were both invaluable to my family when my youngest had a crisis. They had so many resources, and those resources were in many cases, places I wouldn't have even thought to call.

My deepest condolences to your daughter; what a terrible tragedy for a sixteen year old to bear.
posted by headspace at 8:19 AM on December 19, 2017

Compassionate Friends might be a resource for you. I am so sorry for your daughter's loss.
posted by warriorqueen at 8:24 AM on December 19, 2017

A place you might not think to check: Planned Parenthood. They may have some urgent care resources they can tap to get you in to someone quickly.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:14 AM on December 19, 2017

Response by poster: I called https://www.austingrief.org she has an appointment tomorrow at 11:30. Thanks everyone.
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:52 AM on December 19, 2017 [32 favorites]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Annika Cicada. I'll be thinking of you and your daughter.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:08 AM on December 19, 2017 [3 favorites]

Becca Van Tassel runs the Austin Center for Grief and Loss and also has a private practice as well that may be covered under your insurance. I feel like she is great to work with.
posted by magnetsphere at 3:44 PM on December 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

This happened to me at 19. It broke me, but I am okay now. I say this because as a mom myself now, I can only imagine how worried you are.
posted by notjustthefish at 12:33 AM on December 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

My friend works for the Christi Center: http://christicenter.org/

I'm sure they can either help or direct you to someone.
posted by hrj at 1:55 PM on December 21, 2017