Grief and Loss Counselling in Comox, BC.

Grief and loss are a part of all of our lives. If you are experiencing grief and loss then often it is helpful to speak in confidence to a professional who is empathetic and understands the grieving process. There are many ways we can be affected by grief including loss due to death, marriages ending, relationships, jobs, or friends. Benefits of seeking counselling at these times can be to identify and better understand our feelings, to express our grief in a safe place with a compassionate listener who is free from judgement and to explore ideas of the best ways for you to move forwards.

Grief and loss is a process over time of getting to a place of acceptance. We may experience anger, fear, sadness, disbelief from day to day, even moment to moment. We need however, to live our life to its fullest, otherwise we then, are not really living. I use a combination of therapeutic modalities and tools to help facilitate the process of grief, and move the survivor to a place of healing and acceptance.

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.

Grief is a natural response to loss. One of the most important things we can do for grief is to honour it's presence. I will help you process the emotions around your grief, help you to put words to things you are feeling and hold space for you to feel all your feelings. Contrary to popular belief, grief involves any kind of loss, not just the loss of life, this could mean transitions, moves etc.

The inevitability of loss of a loved one is something we will all encounter, but each person grieves in their own way. Sessions focus on talk therapy, and finding personal ways to commemorate loss. I have worked with children who have lost parents, adults who have lost friends and women who have lost their pregnancies. Each carries with it its own pain and path to growth.

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.

Are you feeling sad, anxious, angry, lonely, guilty, relieved, isolated, confused, or numbed out? Loss and grief is most often associated with loss of life, but it can also be central to the presenting problems and underlying issues that are brought into my counselling office by most of my clients. Death, divorce, relocation, immigration, job loss, relationship breakdowns...these are all losses that we need to work through. Talking about your loss and processing your feelings is a good place to start.

While grief and transition are a natural part of life, we are still often overwhelmed by sadness, anger and all the confusing emotions that come with loss. There is no right or wrong way to grieve—just your body and mind doing what it can to process the pain of major life change and the loss of how things were. Working with me means compassionate care that helps you to approach and feel your feelings in a safe way, taking things one step at a time. I promise you that all grief can be transformed into a gentle honouring of who or what was lost. I would be happy to team up with you in your journey towards peace and acceptance.