Grief and Loss Counselling in Calgary, AB.

We all experience loss in our lives, to differing degrees. Grief is an emotional response to the experience of loss. Loss and resulting grief can come in a wide variety of forms. Grief can occur in a situation where we have lost a loved one. This type of grief is known as bereavement. Loss and grief can also occur in more subtle ways, such as feeling as though one has lost an identity after having a child. Grief can manifest in a range of feelings including deep sadness, anger, guilt, regret, and yearning . The journey of adapting to loss varies greatly from person to person. Whatever kind of loss you have experienced, therapy can be a safe space to explore your emotions and memories.

[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

Grief and loss is approached with grace, emotional validation and compassion in session. I am very client centred and believe that clients know what is best for them and their grieving and we will work together to find a healing path and journey that works for you in your own time. My goal is to provide compassion and validation throughout the grieving process while offering opportunities to heal and grow through the pain.

Are you ready to move forward? I can help you with this process. Grief & Loss is a natural part of life, however sometimes it impacts us to the point of being stuck in the past. I can help you heal as we explore the stages of grief together, reach acceptance, and move forward. Gone, but not forgotten- I can help and support you throughout this healing journey.

Grief counseling helps people cope with grief and mourning following the loss of a loved one or due to major life changes that trigger feelings of grief (i.e. job loss or divorce). It provides a space for individuals to work through and process the complex emotions surrounding loss. Healthy grieving results in remembering the loss with a newfound sense of peace, rather than searing pain.

Have you experienced a loss and are worried about how your children are coping? Are they refusing to talk about it? Or maybe they are asking too many questions and you are worried about how to answer them? Children grieve differently to adults and are often not able to fully express their fears or emotions. Often, these feelings are internalized and result in disruptive behaviors as they get older. In my custom designed play therapy room, they are given a safe space to explore their feelings and process their experience. I can help you guide them through this experience and set them up for future success and happiness.

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.

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

Grief counseling helps people cope with grief and mourning following the loss of a loved one or due to major life changes that trigger feelings of grief (i.e. job loss or divorce). It provides a space for individuals to work through and process the complex emotions surrounding loss. Healthy grieving results in remembering the loss with a newfound sense of peace, rather than searing pain.

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.

People living in our culture often lack the permission -both from others and themselves - to fully grieve their losses, and yet I have observed that careful attention to grief is so necessary for achieving and maintaining our health and wellness in the long term. I try to support you in approaching grief as a process and a journey. Our work together involves honoring the loss while finding ways to help you manage strong feelings, and re-orient toward the many aspects of your life that your grief touches. Using mindfulness and body awareness helps to both deepen and ground this process, and exploring meaningful personal rituals together (ritual having been a key ingredient in many healthy cultures’ approach to grief) can be very helpful.

Standard Grief: Sadness directly related to a loss. Complex Grief: Sadness related to a loss. Includes additional meanings and associated emotions as in: Regret – “I am a horrible person” Anger – “The universe took something too soon” Hopelessness – “ My life has not meaning now” Fear – “I am at risk of losing more” Helpless – “I am incapable- I cannot go on” Complex grief is grieving that get stuck because of the complicating meaning the trauma of loss has triggered. In order to treat complex grief, we remove the LBs associated with the loss, as shown above, and this lets the standard grief progress through the regular stages of grief, to arrive at a healthy perspective on the loss.

Clients can expect a client centered, supportive and informative understanding of what to expect regarding grief and loss issues as well as how to work through these issues through hands-on therapeutic techniques. I currently use some emotionally focused therapy techniques as well as models from three different grief cycles for grief issues which can include anything from death and loss of a loved one to giving up substances or breakup of a relationship.