Grief & Bereavement Support — Maryland & DC | MJB Holistic

MJB Holistic provides grief and bereavement support to Maryland and DC residents via secure telehealth, plus select Georgia patients covered by Peach State Health Plan. In-person visits available at our Upper Marlboro, MD office; telehealth available statewide.

Grief isn't a problem to be solved. It's the price of having loved someone. But sometimes grief gets stuck — sleep won't come, daily life feels impossible, the loss takes over more of your time and energy than you can afford. That's when professional support helps. At MJB Holistic & Therapeutic Services in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, we provide compassionate care for grief, bereavement, and complicated loss. We treat the whole client, and not the hole in the client.

When grief needs professional support

Most grief follows a difficult but eventually manageable path. The signs that grief may need clinical support include:

• Sleep disruption that has lasted for weeks or months
• Inability to function at work, in relationships, or with daily tasks
• Persistent intrusive thoughts about the loss that won't quiet down
• Profound guilt — about things said, unsaid, done, or not done
• Anger that doesn't have a clear target
• Feeling stuck — like you should be "further along" but aren't
• Thoughts of joining the person you lost, or self-harm thoughts of any kind
• Loss compounded by other major life stress (job loss, financial strain, additional losses)
• Loss of a child, spouse, or other particularly devastating relationship
• Sudden, traumatic, or violent loss
• Loss to suicide, overdose, or under circumstances that make grief especially complicated

Complicated grief and prolonged grief disorder

In the past few years, the field has formally recognized prolonged grief disorder — grief that, after about 12 months in adults (6 months in children), remains intense, all-consuming, and disabling. It's distinct from depression, though they often overlap. Specific treatments help, and the sooner they start, the better.

Our approach to grief and bereavement support

Melveena Johnson-Bolden, PMHNP-BC, treats grief as the deeply human experience it is — not as a checklist of stages to pass through. There's no right way to grieve, and there's no timetable that works for everyone.

Bereavement care at MJB typically includes:

• A thorough evaluation to understand the loss, the relationship, and what's been hardest since
• Treatment of co-occurring depression, anxiety, sleep disruption, or PTSD when present
• Medication management when sleep, depression, or anxiety symptoms are interfering with the grief process — medication doesn't make grief go away, but it can give you the bandwidth to actually grieve
• Pharmacogenetic testing for patients with treatment-resistant depression layered on top of grief
• Coordination with grief-trained therapists for talk therapy, including specialized prolonged grief therapy when indicated
• Connection to community grief resources — support groups, hospice bereavement services, faith-based support if that fits

Medications and pharmacogenetic testing

If medication is part of your plan, MJB Holistic offers in-house pharmacogenetic testing — a simple test that helps your provider tailor psychiatric medications to your specific body chemistry. Patients who use pharmacogenetic testing are roughly 2.5 times more likely to achieve remission, with fewer side effects and fewer trial-and-error medication switches. The test is often free for patients depending on insurance, with results in 3 to 5 business days. Learn more on our pharmacogenetic testing page at mjbholistic.com/genetic-testing.

Loss to suicide or overdose

Loss to suicide or overdose carries a particular weight — guilt, anger, public stigma, and questions that may never be answered. We work with grieving families and partners after this kind of loss. You are not alone, and you don't have to navigate it alone.

What to expect at your first visit

First appointments are 60 minutes. We'll talk about who you lost, when, and what's been hardest. There's no expectation that you'll have it together — falling apart in the room is fine. The goal of the first visit is to understand what you need, not to push you anywhere.

Appointments can be in-person at our Upper Marlboro office or via secure telehealth on Spruce.

Frequently asked questions about bereavement care

How is grief treatment different from depression treatment?

Sometimes they overlap; sometimes they're distinct. Grief is a response to a loss; depression is a clinical condition that can persist without a clear cause. Many grieving people develop depression on top of grief. Treatment addresses both — the grief itself doesn't need a cure, but the depression, anxiety, or sleep symptoms layered on top often do benefit from treatment.

Should I be on medication while I grieve?

Not necessarily. Grief itself isn't a medication problem. But when grief is preventing sleep, eating, working, or basic functioning, short-term medication can help you regain enough capacity to actually grieve. We'll discuss the trade-offs honestly.

How long will this take?

Most people we work with see meaningful improvement in functioning within 2 to 4 months, with continued processing of the loss for much longer. The relationship with the person you lost doesn't end — it changes. We help you find a way to carry it that doesn't take over your life.

Do you offer therapy or just medication?

Melveena specializes in psychiatric medication management. For specialized grief therapy (including prolonged grief therapy), we coordinate with grief-trained therapists in the community. Many patients work with both us and a therapist simultaneously.

I lost someone a long time ago and never really dealt with it. Is it too late?

No. Old, unprocessed grief surfaces all the time — sometimes triggered by a new loss, an anniversary, a life transition. Grief work doesn't have an expiration date.

Insurance and payment

MJB Holistic accepts a broad range of insurance plans:

• Aetna
• Cigna
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• UnitedHealthcare
• Humana Military
• TriCare
• Johns Hopkins
• Maryland Medicaid
• DC Medicaid
• Peach State Health Plan (Georgia)

If your plan isn't listed, contact us — we work with patients on out-of-network coverage and can provide superbills for reimbursement.

Telehealth across Maryland

In addition to in-person care at our Upper Marlboro office, we offer secure telehealth appointments through Spruce — a private, healthcare-focused platform built specifically for behavioral health. Telehealth is available across Maryland, with limited availability for patients in Washington DC and Georgia depending on Melveena's licensure in your state.

Schedule your consultation

If you're ready to take the first step toward grief and bereavement treatment, you can book an appointment online through our patient portal at mjbholistic.intakeq.com/booking, call us at (301) 381-3622, or email info@mjbholistic.com. New patients are welcome and most appointments are available within 1 to 2 weeks.

MJB Holistic & Therapeutic Services, LLC is a Maryland-based psychiatric practice serving Upper Marlboro, Bowie, Largo, Lake Arbor, Mitchellville, Glenarden, and surrounding Prince George's County communities — plus telehealth across Maryland.