Grief and Loss Counselling in Courtenay, 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 are profound and deeply personal experiences that require a compassionate approach. I'm here to provide a supportive space where you can express your feelings and find understanding. Utilizing methods tailored to your unique journey, we'll explore the emotions tied to loss and work on strategies to heal and grow. It's not just about moving on; it's about honoring what you've lost and finding new meaning. Together, we'll navigate this delicate path, embracing both tears and laughter, as we build a future filled with hope and resilience.

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.

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.

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.

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.