About Your Counselor
Jodie Goldberg, LMSW
Licensed in New York & Connecticut
"People grieving the death of a beloved animal deserve the same compassion, the same understanding, and the same safe place to grieve that we offer for every other kind of loss."
- Licensed Master Social Worker
- Pet Loss Counseling & Coaching
- Works with Children, Families & Adults
- ESA Evaluations
- Student of Animal-Assisted Counseling
- Counseling for clients in New York & Connecticut
- Brief Coaching for clients nationwide
- ESA Evaluations in New York & Connecticut
- Long Term counseling available
- Virtual sessions available
Services
Two ways Jodie works with clients
Both services sit at the intersection of clinical skill and a real regard for the animals in people's lives.
Pet Loss & Grief Support
Space to grieve a companion animal openly, whether the loss is recent or years old, anticipated or sudden. Jodie offers long term pet loss counseling for grief that needs time and room, and acute, brief coaching for the raw first days and weeks after a loss. Support is here for the whole household, including parents figuring out how to talk with a child about a pet who has died.
- Long Term Pet Loss Counseling
- Clients located in New York and Connecticut
- Acute, Brief Pet Loss Coaching
- Clients nationwide
ESA Evaluations
A clinical evaluation of whether an emotional support animal is a fit for your mental health needs. This is an assessment, not a form to fill out, and a supporting letter is issued only when the evaluation supports one.
- Evaluations
- Clients located in New York and Connecticut
- Format
- Virtual sessions available
Why This Work
Grief for an animal deserves to be witnessed
I grew up in a family that never had fewer than three pets, and I developed a deep love for animals from a very young age. We shared immense love for our animals, and we shared profound grief when we lost them. That grief was understood in my house. We met one another with love, empathy, and compassion.
Over the years, my understanding of how pet loss is perceived by others began to shift. Outside of my own upbringing, I found that perceptions vary widely. Some people share the view I grew up with, that our pets are members of the family and that the intensity of grief after their death can mirror the grief we feel after any other significant loss. But I also came to see how often this grief is misunderstood, dismissed, minimized, or even criticized.
Those experiences deepened my awareness of how isolating pet loss can be. When your grief is not recognized by the people around you, the loss becomes harder to carry. People grieving the death of a beloved animal deserve the same compassion, the same understanding, and the same safe place to grieve that we offer for every other kind of loss.
That belief is at the heart of why I am a student of the Pet Loss & Grief Specialist program at Animal Talks, and a student of Animal-Assisted Counseling under Judith Liu, LCSW. As a Licensed Master Social Worker, grief and loss are already part of my clinical work, and I bring that same client centered, holistic approach to pet loss. Before becoming a social worker, I spent more than fifteen years in education, working closely with children, teens, and families, and that background shapes how I show up for families of every shape and size who are grieving a companion animal, including helping parents talk with children about pet loss.
Some people come to me for a few focused coaching sessions in the acute days after a loss, when everything feels raw and the next hour is hard enough. Others stay for longer term counseling as their grief changes shape over months. Both are welcome here.
My work is rooted in creating a compassionate, judgment free space where people can name their loss openly, make sense of what they are feeling, and feel supported as they find a way forward that keeps their companion close.
Her Own Companions
The animals who taught her this grief firsthand
Jodie came to this work the same way many of her clients arrive at it, through the animals she has loved and lost.
Background
The path that led to this work
Four threads that shape how Jodie sits with grief: years alongside children and families, clinical social work, grief practice, and ongoing study of pet loss and the human-animal bond.
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01
Fifteen Years in Education
More than fifteen years working closely with children, teens, and families, learning how loss lands differently at every age and how to talk about it plainly.
Schools & Family Settings -
02
Clinical Social Work
Master of Social Work with licensure in New York and Connecticut, bringing a client centered, holistic approach to therapy and to the grief that runs underneath so much of it.
Licensed Master Social Worker, NY & CT -
03
Grief & Loss Practice
Grief and loss are already central to her clinical work, which means pet loss is met with the same clinical care given to any other significant bereavement.
Steady Compass Counseling Services -
04
Student of the Human-Animal Bond
A student of the Pet Loss & Grief Specialist program at Animal Talks, with a focus on disenfranchised grief and what families need after an animal dies, and a student of Animal-Assisted Counseling under Judith Liu, LCSW.
Animal Talks · The Gentle Paw
"It is a privilege to walk alongside people through one of the most painful transitions they may face, to listen, to validate, and to remind them that their grief is a reflection of the love they shared."
Jodie Goldberg, LMSW
Ready to Connect?
Your grief is welcome here
Whether the loss happened this week or years ago, whether you need a few focused sessions or a longer stretch of support, whether you are grieving alone or trying to help a child through it, there is room for all of it in this work.
Explore all Gentle Paw services
Jodie Goldberg is a Licensed Master Social Worker licensed in New York and Connecticut, working under the supervision of Judith Liu, LCSW. She offers long term pet loss counseling and emotional support animal evaluations to clients located in New York and Connecticut, and acute, brief pet loss coaching to clients nationwide. She is a student of Animal-Assisted Counseling under Judith Liu, LCSW. An ESA evaluation is a clinical assessment, and a supporting letter is issued only when the evaluation supports one. The Gentle Paw is a DBA of Steady Compass Counseling Services, LCSW P.C.