Grief and Loss Counselling in Calgary, AB.

The loss of someone or something important to you can be extremely overwhelming. For what ever type of loss you experience, grief is a natural reaction. Feelings such as guilt, shock, sadness, and frustration are also common. Each person grieves in their own way and in their own time. There is no one "right" way to grieve, as it depends on your unique situation. I work with each person in a supportive manner to explore emotions and process the loss, so that moving forward becomes a possibility.

Loss of relationship like any loss has significant emotional consequences and can have impacts across the life spectrum. The fact that relationships are one of our primary coping mechanisms multiplies the potential distress. Processing and Resolving relationship loss can lead to significant better quality of life as well as significantly improved quality of future relationships.

For over twenty years I have been working with issues of grief and loss. We have beliefs about how long it takes to move through the typical stages of grief and not everyone fits that. Our culture doesn't always appreciate that grief takes longer, is experienced in unexpected ways or is as significant over time as it is. I can help you move through the loss where ever you are at now. If grief is in control of your emotions and your life I invite you to contact me.

The loss of a loved one can be one of the most challenging emotional experiences that people face in their lives. Loss and grief can also be experienced for other reasons such as when an individual or a loved one develops a serious disability or life-threatening illness. I support people through the symptoms of grief and the difficult life adjustments that follow. The goal of counselling is reached through the expression of emotions, memories and thoughts about the loss, while normalizing its effects. The hope is that eventually people work toward rebuilding and find their new sense of normal.

Grief and loss therapy is of utmost importance to me. I have lost a child myself so am intimately familiar with some of the experiences around integrating, finding meaning, understanding suffering, dealing with guilt & shame, supporting family members, supporting siblings in the school settings, managing it within the marriage and thriving not just surviving.

[NOTE: MY OFFICE IS IN CALGARY -- I DO VIDEO SESSIONS ELSEWHERE IN ALBERTA]. You are hurting now, and I understand that. As a psychologist with 31-years of experience and some hard-earned wisdom, I too have experienced grief and loss many times in my life. I can help. Let’s sit down over coffee and chat about the pain you are feeling now. Book with me right now by going to https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

When it all comes crashing down, everyone needs a safe place to be heard. It should be easier for Christians - but often it is far more difficult. It's hard to find a safe place to ask the really hard questions. It's even harder to receive subtle messages to, "Contain your sorrow," from others. So, if you're tired of putting on a brave face, come and experience a place where you can be really understood and real help with navigating through that surreal fog and haze. Life's losses are never a place for pat answers or bandaid solutions.

Dealing with grief and loss can be overwhelming and leave you feeling like there is no way forward. My job is to stand beside you with a view to the future and the tools to help you find your way forward with a safe place to resolve the sense of loss and adaptive coping skills. It is humbling and inspiring to witness clients move from fear and uncertainty toward knowing and strength.

A supportive environment is offered to talk about and resolve difficult loss situations and feelings. Eventually you will be able to remember the positive times anf feel little pain of the loss. You will find new motivation to carry on with your life. You will have new motivation and see the world in a more positive light. Being socially involved and being involved with new relationships that previously felt impossible can happen once more.

Losses are often the most difficult of life transitions. One can feel like the sadness will never lift or that life no longer has meaning. Grief is a soul journey that will change you physically, emotionally, cognitively, socially, and spiritually. The word "bereavement" literally means to be torn apart. No wonder you feel so tired! Let me companion you as you journey through this dark time in your life. You won't "get over" grief any more than you "get over" love, but you can reconcile this loss in your life and experience a life of hope and joy once more. Learn more about the Companioning Model at centerforloss.com

We all experience grief and loss. Yet sometimes, the pain cuts too deep. Sometimes, people stay stuck in acute grief for a really long and difficult time. To help, I use techniques based on research by Robert A. Neimeyer. They focus on creating ways to make sense of what happened, together, as a team. This way, the loss could be integrated into your continuing life story. Such grief therapy is not truly about moving on or moving past - it is about reconciling whom - or what - you lost with what you still have. So you can continue to live fully, with a place for both sadness and joy of memories in your heart. I work online across Canada or in-person in Calgary.

Too often our society avoids grieving a loss, and much too often emotions are unnecessarily dulled by the use of tranquilizers. Dr Mervin (Paraklesis Counselling) can come alongside you with a hope-focused approach that is directed at the tasks of bereavement (rather than the phases of bereavement) that will help you make meaning of the loss. In addition, he will assist you with your medication-related counselling needs, especially where abnormal grief has set in and the depression needs to be treated.

Come and experience a gentle and quiet space where your feminine heart can just be. Forget having to look good or say the right things. Bring the hurt, the pain, the anger at God and the questions you don't even feel you have permission to ask and just let go. Let's walk through that fog together and see the hope God has for your future and the healing you can experience right now.