Healing in the Valley: How Faith, Therapy, and Internal Family Systems Are Transforming Grief
- Diana S Rice
- May 5
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 11
Liberation Lunes: Navigating Grief and Healing
Monday, May 5th, 2025
It’s been just over two months since I first opened up about the heartbreaking loss of my mother. It’s nearly three months since she passed. Since that day, life has been a mix of slow healing, small victories, and unexpected waves of emotion. Honestly, my journey has been anything but linear.
As a Christian therapist, I teach my clients that healing takes time. Living it is another matter. It’s a daily lesson in humility, grace, and fierce perseverance.
Today, I want to share a glimpse of what the past few months have looked like. My prayer is that it encourages you, especially if you're walking through grief, experiencing big life transitions, or rediscovering who you are after a significant loss.
Staying Grounded in the Valley
One of the biggest challenges after a deep loss is staying anchored in healthy rhythms, even when your heart feels heavy.
Over the past three months, I’ve leaned into practices that keep me steady:
Walking three miles a day, even when every step feels like a prayer.
Eating nutritious, mindful meals, even when I binge on junk — it happens.
Engaging in breathwork and nervous system regulation (hello acupressure mat & infrared heating pad).
Meditating on Scripture and truth (shoutout to Christ Center Tribe & Grace Oasis).
Daily Bible reading and prayer.
Saying “yes” to connection, even when isolation feels easier.
And yes, crying. A lot. But this time, with control, intention, and compassion for myself.
Some days these rhythms feel like lifelines. Other days, they feel like dragging a weighted blanket uphill. Either way, I keep showing up. Healing doesn’t happen by accident.
Here’s a truth I’ve learned to trust: Healing doesn’t happen in one big dramatic moment. It unfolds in small, stubborn acts of faith, day by day, second by second.
Facing Old Patterns with Compassion and Responsibility
One of the most surprising parts of this season has been the return of old, familiar coping patterns — ones I thought I had left behind.
My body and mind started craving comfort in ways I hadn’t leaned into in years. I found myself reaching for Tate’s gluten-free cookies, Pipcorn cheese balls, and anything crunchy or sweet enough to numb the ache. At times, I felt the urge to drink, to light up a joint — not for fun, but as I used to growing up… to escape. At one point, I even considered shaving my head again, an old symbolic attempt to shed everything I was carrying.
And yes… ThredUp may still be part of my emotional processing toolkit.
Instead of spiraling into guilt or shame, I practiced what I often offer my clients: pausing. I breathed and asked:
“What part of me is reaching for this?”
That single question shifted everything. It helped me respond not with avoidance but with compassion and accountability. It reminded me that I’m not just a therapist; I’m a woman walking out her own sanctification journey, one surrendered step at a time.
That's when I recognized her — an exiled part of me. The younger version who coped with food, fantasy, and survival mode while waiting for her mother to come home, never knowing which version would walk through the door.
This compassionate self-inquiry is the heart of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. As a Christian therapist, the more I study it, the more I see God’s fingerprint all over it:
Father, Son, Holy Spirit — One Being, three expressions. We, too, are one person with many parts — some hurting, some hiding, some holy — all worthy of healing.
That’s why IFS and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) have become core to my approach. This integrative method blends trauma-informed care, biblical truth, and personal responsibility.
Healing isn’t just about naming what hurt us. It’s about asking what we’ll do with that pain now:
Will I numb or renew? Escape or engage? Blame or build?
Healing is not a performance. It’s a posture of surrender. In that surrender, we remember who we’ve always been in Christ:
Fearfully and wonderfully made.
When Grief Sneaks Up (Like It Did at the Nail Salon)
Grief doesn’t pencil itself into your calendar. It ambushes you in the middle of ordinary moments.
A few days before my husband and I left for our 30th wedding anniversary adventure, I booked a pedicure — a simple act of self-care after months of emotional heaviness.
When I arrived, every employee and guest was speaking Spanish. The rhythm of the language, the warmth in the room — it felt like home. “I found my people,” I thought, almost tearfully.
Later that night, as I recounted the experience to my husband, a massive wave of grief crashed over me. It was as if the little girl inside me — the one who longed for nurturing from the women who helped raise me — came pouring out. I sobbed into my husband’s arms, overwhelmed by the sorrow of what I never received and the weight of what I’ve carried all these years.
I realized:
My paternal grandmother — gone.
My paternal aunt — gone.
My half-sister — gone.
My mother — gone.
The women who gave me the stories of who I am are no longer here.
What legacy did they leave behind in me?
I’ve spent years — and lots of therapy — unlearning the parts of those stories that were never mine to carry. This includes:
Untangling trauma from truth.
Sifting cultural beauty from generational pain.
Keeping what gives life.
Releasing what crushes the soul.
Honestly, that’s why I started my podcast. I needed — and still need — reminders of what is eternally true. In the middle of life’s chaos, I have tools, I have breath, I have Jesus. I have purpose in all this. And so do you.
The Birth of The Holistic Counselor Podcast
My very first episode of The Holistic Counselor is all about embracing your story and healing through the lens of faith, lived experience, and integrative mental health.
In every episode, I begin by saying:
“Hello, fearfully and wonderfully made human…”
And I end with:
“Trust in the Lord. Guard your heart. Renew your mind.”
Ultimately, no matter how messy things get, I hold to this truth:
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Without that anchor, I would have drowned long ago.
Biology, Psychology, and Theology: Healing All Parts of Me
Grief shows us that healing is not just spiritual or emotional — it’s biological too.
Your nervous system holds onto trauma. Your brain wires itself around pain. Your body craves safety when your heart feels shattered.
My healing journey — and the work with clients — involves all three:
Biology: Movement, nourishment, breathwork.
Psychology: Parts work, CBT, compassionate inner dialogue.
Theology: Scripture, prayer, worship, spiritual grounding.
We are not just minds, bodies, or souls. We are integrated beings, created with intention — and worth healing, wholly.
Grief has humbled me. I am dust and vapor. Yet by grace, I am beloved dust.
Helpful Resources for Your Healing Journey
Here are some tools, Scriptures, and practices that have helped me — and may help you too:
📚 Internal Family Systems Institute — Learn about parts work and the IFS model.
🎙️ Listen to Episode 1 of The Holistic Counselor — Start your journey of soul-level healing.
📖 Romans 12:2 - Renewing the Mind (ESV) — Let God transform your thoughts.
📔 No Bad Parts by Dr. Richard Schwartz — A compassionate look at the IFS framework.
🧠 Polyvagal Theory Simplified — Understand your nervous system and how trauma affects it.
🙏🏽 Breath Prayer Practice: Inhale: “Jesus, I trust You.” Exhale: “You are my strength.”
Scripture for Your Journey
I want to leave you with a verse that’s held me steady:
"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." — Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
Even when everything looks dry and barren, God is always working beneath the surface.
Ready to Begin Your Healing Journey?
If you’re navigating grief, life transitions, or deep transformation, you don’t have to walk alone.
I offer faith-based therapy rooted in compassion, evidence-based tools, and Biblical truth — to help you heal from the inside out.
Healing is possible. Hope is real. You are deeply, deeply loved — even in the valley.
Heavenly Father, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I lift up every person reading these words right now. Remind them of who they are and how they are fearfully and wonderfully made, no matter what they’ve been through. Give them the courage to face their pain, the insight to see what needs healing, and the strength to do the work that leads to restoration and deeper connection with You. May their healing bring You glory. May their story become a testimony of Your grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Service, Faith, Hope and Love,
Diana
And now for the disclaimer to ensure you understand that YOU are responsible for YOU:
Disclaimer:
The content provided on Liberation Lunes is for entertainment and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical or mental condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this blog. The views expressed on this blog are my personal opinions and do not represent the views of any professional organizations with which I am affiliated. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, 911, or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) immediately. Liberation Lunes does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the blog. Reliance on any information provided by Liberation Lunes, others appearing on the blog at the invitation of Liberation Lunes, or other visitors to the blog is solely at your own risk.
Confidentiality Notice:
If you choose to engage with Liberation Lunes by commenting or posting and you are a client, please be aware that you may reveal information that could compromise your confidentiality. Remember that disclosing your identity or personal details can be linked to your clinical material. As a therapist, I am bound by confidentiality. I will not respond to disclosures of this nature on this blog. I am committed to upholding the ethics and confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship. This commitment extends to all forms of communication, following the laws and professional guidelines that govern mental health professionals. Your privacy is of utmost importance, and you are responsible for protecting it when interacting on this platform or any other public forum.