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Major life transitions can feel unsettling even when they are positive. Change disrupts your familiar rhythms and invites you into a new chapter that may feel uncertain, overwhelming, or strangely hopeful. You might notice old patterns resurfacing, feel emotions you did not expect, or fear needing skills you don't yet have.

Even the most welcome transitions contain loss, and even the most difficult ones contain possibility. Getting support through any significant change can help you move through the process with more steadiness and clarity.

Life Transitions

Navigating the Unknown
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Every transition begins with an ending. Something shifts, and you are asked to adjust in ways you may not have chosen or fully prepared for. Change can feel disruptive because it challenges your identity, your habits, and your expectations. You may notice resistance or confusion. You may also sense a quiet inner voice inviting you toward something more authentic.

Whether a transition arrives suddenly or gradually, it often brings an emotional mix of grief, uncertainty, and curiosity. You might feel relief and fear at the same time. You might feel energized one moment and destabilized the next. These reactions are not signs that you “should be handling things better.”

 

Adjustment takes time, and discovery unfolds as you begin to understand what this transition reveals about you. Many people find that the hardest part is letting go of the old self. Therapy can provide a grounded space to explore this shift and help you navigate it with intention.

Acceptance is not passive. It is the act of recognizing the reality you are in so you can respond to it wisely.

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Grieving Change:

Even the Good Kind

 

Every transition involves loss. Even when you choose the change, you still leave something behind. It might be an identity, a familiar role, a location, or an idea of who you were supposed to be. Grief is not a sign that the transition is wrong. It is a sign that you are acknowledging what mattered.

Transitions stir memories, unmet expectations, and stories about who you think you must be. Grief is part of the transition’s integrity. Allowing it releases pressure and makes space for a deeper understanding of what you need. Therapy can help you explore these emotions without judgment and honor the complexity of your experience.
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Unexpected Grief

  • Changing careers, even if the new path excites you

  • Moving to a new place, even if it holds more opportunity

  • Ending a relationship, even though your authenticity needed to break free

  • Welcoming a child, even though you've longed for parenthood all your life

  • Entering a new phase of life, even one you couldn't wait to reach

The Sacred Invitation:

Growth and Self-Discovery 

 

Transitions dismantle the structures that kept your life predictable. They reveal what is outdated, what is missing, and what wants to emerge. When you approach change with intention, you discover layers of yourself that were not visible before. This process can be sacred because it marks a shift in identity and purpose.

Recognizing the ceremonial quality of change does not require ritual in the traditional sense. It requires presence. You slow down enough to listen to what this chapter is asking of you, become curious about your fears, desires, and longings, and explore what this transition might make possible.

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

  

-MAYA ANGELOU

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How Therapy Supports You Through Change

Therapy provides a steady center during times when your world feels uprooted. It gives you a private, reflective space to understand what this transition brings up for you and how to navigate it with intention. Together we can explore the emotions, fears, hopes, and questions that arise. You can learn how to honor what is ending while stepping into what is beginning.

Support during transitions helps you stay grounded, build resilience, and move forward with clarity. You do not have to handle the pressure or uncertainty alone. With care and guidance, this chapter can become a turning point that shapes you in meaningful ways.

Get Started with Therapy

Online therapy in California from the comfort of your own home.​

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sette therapy los angeles

Vanessa Setteducato, LMFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #119184

Los Angeles, California

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©2025 Vanessa Setteducato, Sette Therapy

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