Grief and Loss Counselling in Hope, BC.

Working from an empathetic stance, I support families as they progress through stages of grief and loss. I also help them to find meaning and comfort during difficult times. Having lost loved ones as well, I provide non-judgemental therapy that is irrespective of the way the loss occurred (I have helped families process death due to suicide) and is person-centred. I work with different kinds of losses, including romantic relationship, loss by death, divorce, miscarriages and abortion, infertility as well as complicated grief.

I understand that the pain you're going through right now feels unbearable, like a heavy weight on your soul. In our work together, we'll create a safe space to explore your feelings and memories, using therapeutic approaches tailored to your unique experience of grief. While the journey ahead may be challenging, it's important to remember that healing is possible. You don't have to go through this alone; I'll be here to support you every step of the way, helping you find a path toward hope and renewal.

Sometimes the passage of time is not enough to help us after the loss of someone we love. Perhaps you want to speak of past experiences or to find closure to unfinished business. You may need to find ways to carry on in life, discovering new ways to participate emotionally or with life style changes. Carey will help you find what you need, encouraging you to find your path with self kindness and greater patience.

My approach is to join with you to understand your experience of loss intimately and deeply in conversation with you. When we are joined with the pain, you will not have to feel it alone, even if the grief is only fully healed with time. I will help you make sense of your feelings and provide psychoeducation around the phases of grief, specifically to how these known phases can be meaningful to your current experience, what you are feeling, and how you can continue to honour the person, relationship, or thing that you have lost and find acceptance and hope.

To provide the psychoeducation with the process and stages of grief and loss: Depression, Denial, Bargaining, Anger, and Acceptance. To provide talk therapy and allow the client to express themselves, however, also incorporate some SFBT and use positive psychology language. To also emphasize that grief has no timeline and certain life events can be a trigger such as brithdays, holidays, or other occasions.

Grief is unique to each person. It can be in the form of a lost ideal or a physical loss of a loved one. Walking along side, accepting, validating and nurturing your feelings in a comfortable and safe environment is my goal. Throughout this process and with time my hope is that we can build a new norm and renew your sense of hope while honouring and cherishing your loss.

Losing a friend or family member can be devastating no matter the circumstances. We can also experience pain from losing a pet, a job or the ending of a relationship. Regardless of what kind of grief or loss you are struggling with, I will support you in facing your pain and finding a way forward. I will help you to understand the process and stages of grief and make sense of it. When we come to make meaning out of our loss our pain is lessened. I will also help you find peace and acceptance.

Grief and loss can be devastating. Left untreated, grief has the power to knock you off your foundation causing instability in your life. I would help to assist with the grief process by providing a safe therapeutic environment allowing the client to have a voice to express or to feel what needs to be felt. Grief needs a witness and a way of expression, but for this to be possible safety and support are essential. No one should ever have to grieve alone; therefore, providing safety, compassion, empathy, understanding and a non-judgement environment is therapeutically useful and healing.

We cope with the loss of a loved ones in different ways. The way we grieve depends on our personality and the relationship with the loss one. Our cultural and religious background, coping skills, support systems, our social and financial status, affects how we cope with grief… There is no right or wrong way of coping with death. Sometimes when you do something to relieve your feelings and to give yourself a sense of achievement, you are accomplishing your journey through mourning. I work with you to plan specific activities and behaviours that are therapeutic for you during your grief.

When we are facing grief and loss, there is often a complex web of emotions and many layers of meaning-making to encounter in our healing process. The path is never linear. The timeline requires sensitivity and nuance. Compassion, patience and the ability to hold seemingly contradictory feelings are paramount. With gentle presence, we can hold the magnitude and the subtleties of this experience moving step by step towards healing.