I am not suggesting that we live a life preoccupied with sorrow. I am saying that our refusal to welcome the sorrows that come to us, our inability to move through these experiences with true presence and conscious awareness, condemns us to a life shadowed by grief. Welcoming everything that comes to us is the challenge. This is the secret to being fully alive.
― Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief
If you're struggling to cope with grief, anxiety, or other life transitions, I’m here to help you navigate these feelings and offer support and strategies to integrate your experience. Not to move on, but to move with. Loss is interwoven into so many of life’s challenging experiences, not only in death, but break-ups, job changes, growth in our gender and identity, family of origin estrangement, kink and non-monogamy, etc. These subjects and more are all open for discussion in our time together.
Pursuing support is a radical expression of self-love. Thank you for being here. All of you is welcome here.
About Me
Hey there, I’m Lori Zaspel (she/they). I am a licensed clinical social worker virtually serving residents of Pennsylvania and Florida who specializes in grief, medical social work, life transitions, anxiety, dementia, chronic illness, and end of life issues. I received my masters in social work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018 and my LCSW in 2021. In addition to private therapy practice, I am a co-founder, educator, and death doula with the Philly Death Doula Collective.
In session, I commonly utilize attachment based, vaso-vagal, relational-cultural, humanist, feminist, narrative, somatic, and constructivist approaches, though I strive to tailor our work to meet your needs and preferences. My goal is to prioritize the needs, interests, and priorities of my clients to wield evidence-based practices in a warm, gently-boundaried, and realistic manner. Please see my FAQs for more details on my training and theoretical approaches.
I strive to operate with an anti-racist, anti-capitalist, and abolitionist lens and center justice and liberation in my therapeutic work as well as in my life.
I am a white, queer, currently able bodied femme human living in West Philadelphia with my nesting partner and rescue dog. I collect and create art and I love to peruse a flea market or yard sale. I hope that getting to know a bit about me helps you make a decision on whether we would be a good fit. If you’re ready, start our work together by clicking here.
FAQs
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Not even remotely. I know that grief effects all areas of your life and so that is what is open for discussion. In addition to bereavement following a death, I work with ambiguous, anticipatory, and living losses as well as companion animal losses. I’m well versed in working with issues associated with kink, sex work, and non-monogamy — I welcome you to bring your whole self to our sessions. I have additional expertise in supporting those with anxiety disorders.
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My insurance spots are currently full. If you would like to be placed on a waitlist, please fill out this form. I am pleased to announce that I will be accepting the following insurances through my work with Main Line Counseling & Wellness:
Aetna
Aetna Student Health
Anthem Blue Cross
Beacon
Blue Cross / Blue Shield
Cigna
Compsych
EAP
Geisinger
Highmark
Horizon Blue Cross
Independence Administrators / Blue Cross
Keystone Health Plan East
Magellan Behavioral Health (Commercial Only)
Meritain
Oasis
Penn Behavioral Health
Personal Choice
UMR
United Behavioral Health Optum
United Behavioral Health Oxford
Additionally, I accept sliding scale payments of $80-$160 / session.
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My in-person sessions are currently full. If you’d like to be placed on a waitlist, please fill out this form. I have a brick and mortar office space where I see clients on Wednesdays in Bryn Mawr. If that is convenient to you, you’re more than welcome to schedule for that space. Otherwise, I see folks virtually throughout Pennsylvania using Doxy.me.
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It begins with filling out this form. If you’re planning to use health insurance, I will provide information on how to begin intake with MLCWC. If we are self-pay, we will schedule a phone call and go from there.
Together, we can and will:
Support you through the ups and downs
Process the waves of emotion as they arrive – through words, creativity, and personal ritual
Co-create a safe(r) space for ventilation, validation, and education
Build skills and increase the options in your coping toolbox
Work to integrate and support grief rather than “move on”
Help you to feel more prepared for the lifelong experience of loss
Writings & Resources
I use this space for sharing links, events, perspectives, and other relevant resources that current and potential clients could benefit from.
