In today’s episode, my guest Dr. Lizzie Cleary is bright and warm and engaging and her training in psychology and work in the fields of oncology meant we spent some time exploring the professional borne wisdom on the topics of grief and loss and post traumatic growth. She currently serves as a Senior Psychologist and Clinical supervisor at the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. But our conversation begins with a much more personal experience of loss that happened at the time Lizzie was studying to be a psychologist.

Lizzie’s Mom Sylvia sounds like she was a trailblazer! And just as Lizzie was launching her own career, in psychology, Sylvia died while out on her kayak in one of her favorite places to be. That was 2005. Lizzie and her family began grieving this as an accidental death only to discover nearly 4 years later, based on the finally completed autopsy report, that she had died by suicide. While Lizzie doesn’t go into details about her death, I appreciated the way she illuminated the unique aspects of grieving this type of death and the added layer of complexity this new information brought forth. Lizzie’s warmth and wisdom and insight taught me so much throughout our conversation and I know you’re going to learn so much too.

Dr. Lizzie Cleary is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in oncology, grief, and making meaning out of life’s most challenging experiences. She is a senior psychologist at the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, where she teaches and supervises graduate students in psychology, social work, medicine, and chaplaincy. She can be found at drlizziecleary.com and on IG @drlizziecleary

Growth After Trauma by Richard G. Tedeschi

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If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today!

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