Why I Do This Work: A Therapist’s Story of Grief, Purpose, and Healing

By Kelly Rae Robertson, NCC, CCTS | Mindful Coast Counseling

I often get asked why I chose this line of work—why grief, why trauma, why sit with such heavy things?

The truth is, I didn’t just choose this work. In many ways, it chose me.

When I was just a freshman in high school, I lost my father. It was a loss that shattered my world. Overnight, I became the primary caregiver for my blind mother. Childhood faded quickly. There was no space to fall apart, no one who sat beside me and asked, “Tell me about your dad.” No one gave me a safe place to say how much it hurt. I was expected to just keep going.

So I did. I kept going.

But somewhere along the way, I promised myself that if I ever had the chance, I would become the kind of support I so badly needed back then. I would be to someone what I didn’t have.

That promise shaped everything.

Before becoming a therapist, I had a different life. I was a journalist—one who landed on the front page of a newspaper just two months into my career for my coverage of the local impact of the September 11th attacks. Eventually, I returned to school for a master’s in criminal justice administration and spent nearly 15 years working in the judicial system. I witnessed pain up close—cycles of trauma, generational grief, and lives shaped by unhealed wounds.

And then I found something that changed me: The Highmark Caring Place. It’s a center for grieving children and their families, and I’ve had the honor of volunteering there for the past seven years. Sitting with those kids—hearing their stories, honoring their losses—it reminded me of my younger self. The one who was never asked. The one who was never held in her grief.

That’s why I do this.

I became a Nationally Certified Counselor and earned advanced training in trauma and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), with a special focus on grief. Today, I run Mindful Coast Counseling—my private practice where I work with children, teens, adults, veterans, first responders, and survivors of violence and abuse. I specialize in helping people through their darkest moments.

Because I’ve been there.

I know what it’s like to feel like the world is moving on without you. I know what it’s like to carry pain that no one sees. And I know how powerful it is when someone finally does.

So if you’re reading this and you’re carrying something heavy—grief, trauma, a story no one’s asked to hear—I want you to know: you’re not alone. There is hope. And there is healing. Sometimes, all it takes is one safe place to begin.

Let this be yours.

If you’re carrying the weight of grief and searching for a way to begin healing, you’re not alone. Whether you've lost someone, something, or a sense of yourself, please email me at mindfulcoastcounseling@gmail.com or call 412-376-3479.

I’d be honored to walk with you through this part of your journey.

—Kelly Rae Robertson, MS, NCC, CCTS

Grief, Trauma & EMDR Specialist

Owner & Founder, Mindful Coast Counseling

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The content of this post does not replace professional medical or mental health treatment or diagnosis.