Meet Margaret Pendergrass | Therapist and Grief Counselor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Margaret Pendergrass and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Margaret, what do you attribute your success to?
I believe that the most important factor behind Roswell Grief Counseling’s success and my success as a therapist is that I specialize in issues that I have experienced personally- not just learned about professionally. Grief, caregiver fatigue and managing the emotional toll of chronic illnesses, such as dementia and cancer- these are all areas that I have had to face personally and these experiences inform my clinical practice.

There can be a stereotype of therapists as being unwilling to share anything about their lives. Clients appreciate my honesty and authenticity because it normalizes their own experiences of grief and loss. It can be such a relief to feel understood and seen.

What should our readers know about your business?
Roswell Grief Counseling is more than just another therapy practice. We also focus on changing how the community thinks about and talks about grief. I’m excited to change some of the common misconceptions about grief and loss, including what grief should look like, how long grief can last and what losses we are allowed to grieve.

We don’t often think of losses such as a new diagnosis of chronic illness, a job loss, divorce, loss of ability or even loss of identity as needing to be mourned, but our brains grieve these losses the same as losing a loved one.

It’s not easy to change for us to give ourselves permission to grieve or even feel our emotions in general. It will always be a challenge to change the ways people think about something on such a large scale. However, through both individual and group education, Roswell Grief Counseling hopes to make small but important changes for the whole community.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Roswell, GA has a lot to offer no matter what you are interested in. Just a few blocks from our office is beautiful hiking at the Roswell Mill and Summit Coffee for great coffee. Downtown Roswell has many food options, so there is something for everyone. Roswell is also known for its outdoor activities including the water activities on the Chattahoochee River. I love walking and bird watching on the Roswell Riverwalk or across the street at the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
“It’s Okay That You’re Not Okay” by Megan Devine transformed how I approached my own grief and my work with clients. Our culture can be very grief-phobic and her book normalizes that grief is HARD, long-lasting and different for each of us. We do ourselves a disservice when we put expectations on how we should be grieving!

Website: https://www.roswellgriefcounseling.com

Image Credits
Reese Cann