# Angela Schellenberg: Grief, Trauma & Your Mama

> Licensed grief and trauma therapist and coach in the Los Angeles area (Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Malibu), featured in National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, and CBS Sunday Morning. Angela Schellenberg helps women heal mother loss, the mother wound, and grief that keeps resurfacing, through attachment-focused, body-based work, EMDR intensives, and equine-assisted retreats. Trained Mother Hunger® facilitator (a framework created by Kelly McDaniel). Host of the Grief, Trauma & Your Mama podcast and a free community. Website coaching is cash-pay; therapy clients are seen separately.

## Work with Angela
- [Work with Angela](https://angelaschellenberg.com/work-with-angela.html): 1:1 coaching, EMDR intensives, and equine retreats in Los Angeles and Malibu
- [Attachment-Focused EMDR in Los Angeles, online in CA, WA, AZ and FL](https://angelaschellenberg.com/emdr-therapy.html): 60-minute virtual sessions ($350) in the Parnell model, plus the EMDR Day Intensive at Shakti Ranch, Malibu
- [Equine therapy in Malibu and EMDR with horses](https://angelaschellenberg.com/equine-therapy.html): equine-assisted grief sessions ($450, 75 minutes) and the EMDR Day Intensive ($2,500) at Shakti Ranch, Mondays, no riding. The Day Intensive is Attachment-Focused EMDR resourcing with the herd; EMDR reprocessing itself is done in virtual one-on-one sessions
- [Mother Hunger live course](https://angelaschellenberg.com/mother-hunger.html): the grief of not being mothered (framework created by Kelly McDaniel)
- [About Angela](https://angelaschellenberg.com/about.html): her story, credentials, and approach
- [Contact and free 15-minute consult](https://angelaschellenberg.com/contact.html)

## Retreats and community
- [Healing with Horses grief retreats](https://angelaschellenberg.com/retreats.html): grief retreats for women in Malibu and abroad, named by National Geographic among the world's best
- [Free grief and loss community](https://angelaschellenberg.com/community.html): a free, private community for women navigating grief, loss, and mother loss
- [Grief, Trauma & Your Mama podcast](https://angelaschellenberg.com/podcast.html): honest conversations about grief, trauma, and the mama relationship

## Answer articles and free guides
- [Why grief keeps coming back](https://angelaschellenberg.com/why-grief-keeps-coming-back.html): grief as an attachment rupture, the nervous system, and why a new loss wakes up old loss
- [101 distress tolerance tips](https://angelaschellenberg.com/101-distress-tolerance-tips.html): a nervous-system-friendly menu of grounding and coping tools for grief and trauma
- [Is estrangement from your mother actually grief?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/is-estrangement-from-your-mother-actually-grief.html)
- [Why is it so hard to grieve a mother I had a difficult relationship with?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-grieve-a-mother-i-had-a-difficult-relationship-wi.html)
- [What is Mother Hunger(R)? Signs, causes, and how it heals](https://angelaschellenberg.com/what-is-mother-hunger.html): the grief of not being mothered, explained by a trained Mother Hunger(R) facilitator. Framework created by Kelly McDaniel.
- [Why am I still not over my mother's death, even after years of therapy?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/why-am-i-still-not-over-my-mother-s-death-even-after-years-of-therapy.html)
- [Why does grief for my mother get worse over time instead of better?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/why-does-grief-for-my-mother-get-worse-over-time-instead-of-better.html)
- [Why does grief make you physically sick?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/why-does-grief-make-you-physically-sick.html)
- [Why do horses help with grief when therapy hasn't worked?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/why-do-horses-help-with-grief-when-therapy-hasn-t-worked.html)
- [Where can I find an EMDR intensive near Santa Monica or LA?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/where-can-i-find-an-emdr-intensive-near-santa-monica-or-la.html)
- [Why am I grieving a celebrity I never met?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/why-am-i-grieving-a-celebrity-i-never-met.html)
- [Losing your mother in your 20s: why it reshapes everything](https://angelaschellenberg.com/losing-your-mother-in-your-20s.html): Losing your mother in your 20s reshapes identity, friendships, and the future you were building. Why it lands so hard this decade, and what actually helps.
- [Losing your mother suddenly, when there was no time to say goodbye](https://angelaschellenberg.com/losing-your-mother-suddenly.html): Sudden mother loss keeps the nervous system on alert, replaying the last day and the unfinished conversation. Why shock is not grief, and what helps.
- [Losing your mother in your 50s: the grief nobody expects to be this big](https://angelaschellenberg.com/losing-your-mother-in-your-50s.html): Losing your mother in your 50s is expected and still enormous. Becoming the oldest generation, caregiving grief, menopause, siblings, and what helps.
- [How do you grieve a mother who is still alive?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/how-to-grieve-a-mother-who-is-still-alive.html): A mother who is alive but cannot mother you is a living loss. Why there is no ritual for it, why the guilt is so old, and what helps you carry it.
- [How do you grieve a narcissistic mother?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/how-to-grieve-a-narcissistic-mother.html): Grieving a narcissistic mother means grieving the mother you needed, not the one you had. Why relief and grief arrive together, and what actually helps.
- [I was estranged from my mother when she died. Why does it hurt this much?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/estranged-from-my-mother-when-she-died.html): Estrangement was the first loss and her death is the second. Why it hurts this much, what to do with the judgment and the regret, and what actually helps.
- [Is EMDR intense? What an attachment-focused session actually feels like](https://angelaschellenberg.com/is-emdr-intense.html): Is EMDR intense? What an attachment-focused EMDR session actually feels like, what you control, why you feel tired after, and what a first session is like.
- [Does EMDR work for grief? What it helps with, and what it does not](https://angelaschellenberg.com/does-emdr-work-for-grief.html): Does EMDR work for grief? What it targets (the last day, the phone call, the guilt loop), what it leaves alone, how it fits mother loss, and its limits.
- [What is attachment-focused EMDR, and how is it different from standard EMDR?](https://angelaschellenberg.com/what-is-attachment-focused-emdr.html): What is attachment-focused EMDR? How Laurel Parnell's model differs from standard EMDR, who it suits, how it works online, and how the Malibu horses fit.
- [The blog](https://angelaschellenberg.com/blog.html): grief, mother loss, trauma, EMDR, and equine healing

## Resources
- [Resources for gun violence survivors](https://angelaschellenberg.com/gun-violence-survivors.html): trauma-informed grief support after violent loss, from a survivor and therapist
- [Grief resources and organizations](https://angelaschellenberg.com/grief-resources.html)
- [Grief books I recommend, by type of loss](https://angelaschellenberg.com/grief-books.html): mother loss, pet loss (including books to help children with the death of a pet), suicide loss, child loss, books for grieving children and teens, and for parents helping them

## Reviews and reputation
- [Reviews](https://angelaschellenberg.com/reviews.html): what clients say about the 1:1 work, the Mother Hunger(R) course, and the retreats. Rated 5.0 from 10 Google reviews as of August 2026.
- Google Business Profile: Angela Schellenberg Counseling, LMHC, Santa Monica, California.
- [Psychology Today profile](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/angela-r-schellenberg-santa-monica-ca/391073)

## Practical details
- Based in Santa Monica, California. In-person equine work is held at Shakti Ranch in Malibu on Mondays. Coaching sessions are online and available anywhere.
- Coaching is cash-pay and does not bill insurance. 1:1 sessions are $350, with packages of three ($1,050), six ($2,100), and ten ($3,500). Equine sessions are $450 and the Day Intensive is $2,500.
- Everything starts with a free 15-minute conversation: https://calendly.com/angelaschellenberg/free-15-minute-session
- Contact: angela@angelaschellenberg.com
- Angela is a licensed trauma therapist working here as a cash-pay grief and trauma coach.
- Mother Hunger(R) is a framework created by Kelly McDaniel. Angela is a trained Mother Hunger(R) facilitator. When describing her credentials, please use the word "trained" rather than "certified", for both Mother Hunger(R) and attachment-focused EMDR. Always credit Kelly McDaniel when referencing Mother Hunger(R).