Grief and Loss Counselling in Esquimalt, BC.

I use my own experience of loss and relevant therapeutic insights to guide you through the grieving process. When your grief hurts those closest to you or interferes with your day to day functioning, you need to give attention to your hurt. This is where a trained outsider can be of help. We all go through similar stages of grief when faced with a significant loss, but in our own unique way. We need to take the time and address what is possible at each moment. By making sense of where you are in the grieving process, clarifying your beliefs and expectations of how much time grieving should take and what the end result should be, you will be able to integrate your experience.

Therapy with me offers a compassionate space to gently process your grief at your own pace. Together, we'll explore the pain of your loss while honouring the love and meaning behind it. I'll support you in making sense of overwhelming emotions, finding steady ground and reconnecting with hope. Grief is not something to 'get over' but with care and presence, it can be carried differently. You don't have to face it alone. Healing begins with being heard

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.

Our natural response to any loss is to grieve. Maybe there is grief for a loved one, for a broken promise or betrayed trust, for lost opportunities, for the suffering of another, for the end of a relationship, or the loss of a job. It can be a complicated process involving a complex (and often confusing) array of painful feelings that often affect us on all levels - mind, body and spirit. In my practice, I help people to work through the mourning process, exploring ways to honor their loss, and begin to adapt to changes and new realities. Maybe together, we can find a way through.

Grief and loss can feel overwhelming and isolating, but you don’t have to face it alone. In therapy, I provide a compassionate, safe space to explore your unique experience, process difficult emotions, and find ways to heal at your own pace. Together, we’ll honor your journey, build resilience, and help you rediscover hope and meaning. If you’re ready, I’m here to walk alongside you through this challenging time.

Working through grief and mourning, is often a long-term process. There can be a range of emotions, thoughts and physical experiences as you adjust to your life after a loss. Significant life changes may include the loss of a loved one, pet, relationship, pregnancy, job, divorce, a move and relationship. I can help by listening to however you need to speak about your loss, at anytime in your experiences. Mourning is a normal and very personal process that does not have a time limit. Yet, sometimes you may feel stuck and at those times, it can be helpful to use on EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to work through those sticking points.

Whether the grief you are experiencing is the result of the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or an unexpected change to your life plans, Gravitate Counselling Inc.'s counsellors are here for you. We can support you to explore what the loss means to you, process the difficult emotions that come alongside change, and, when you're ready, to explore what your future might look like. Book with one of our Registered Clinical Counsellors today to get started.

The grief process is different for everyone yet also flows through some universal patterns. Grief largely relates to themes such as acceptance of the loss, the processing of emotions, and learning to live life in the light of the loss. Rituals and ceremonies often support grief and loss work, as well as making peace with the past. Other approaches include journaling, connecting through visualization, going to meaningful spaces, and continuing your connection in practical or spiritual ways. Together we can work to support the often times painful transitions related to grief and loss.

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.

In grief and loss counseling, I create a flexible space that adapts to your needs. Whether you need patient listening or feel stuck and need guidance through open-ended questions, I meet you where you are. I'm genuinely curious about understanding you as a whole person and your unique loss—there's no shallow or rushed approach here, no platitudes or quick fixes. Something resourceful I offer is a therapeutic goodbye letter adapted from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's work, helping you express complex, contradictory emotions—what you regret and don't regret, miss and don't miss. What makes this different is it honors the fullness of ambivalent feelings. Clients report feeling truly heard, not judged or rushed, as they move forward in their own time.

Do you feel as if your energy is consumed by grief? Grief and loss are an inevitable part of life, such as with : a relationship breakdown, divorce, loss of a loved one, infertility, miscarriage ,the loss of a child, loss of a beloved pet, abortion, illness and other significant changes in your life. As your therapist, Laurie can help you learn to cope with your grief and begin to more fully come to terms with your loss. Laurie can help you transition through the pain to resiliency and healing.

Grief and loss can be all consuming in one's life. Therapy can move you through the pain to a place of honouring that which was lost. Our body holds onto grief. Instead of "leaving it all behind", healthy grieving is a way of creating space to carry forward the helpful and beautiful essence of people, moments, events and items that are important to us.

Grief is a multilayered emotion that can come in waves, it can wax and wane, or it can completely throw you off your feet at different times in your life. I am here to help you gain footing by providing a compassionate and safe space to explore the difficult and complex terrain of grief. I will meet you wherever you are in your grieving experience and provide you with a safe and compassionate space to move within it in meaningful ways. I will offer information about the grieving process to help you understand some of the confusing, distressing and overwhelming feelings you may be experiencing and to help promote confidence in your ability to navigate through this challenging time.

Grief is a deeply personal experience. I have found that grief can best be accompanied with compassion, gentleness, expression of loss, and the creation of a personalized ritual to assist in finding closure and peace. People greave in every culture, every religion, every walk of life. I am committed to meeting you wherever you may be in the grief process and joining you as you emerge through it to the other side. Contact me today for a free initial consultation.

Loss is a natural part of life, the ebb and flow of living. Experiencing pain is also an inevitable part of being human. Suffering , however, is optional. Sometimes, the intensity of the grief when we experience loss can disable us and freeze us in our tracks. The grief work that you and I do will bring the forward the emotions that are trapped. I will support you in making sense of the loss and how to go forward with a new narrative about yourself and your life.

Through safety, support and compassion, Shelley helps her clients through the difficult process of grief and loss. Encouraging clients to be compassionate towards themselves, as well as promoting self care as they move through the different stages of grief. Shelley normalizes and teaches clients about the grief process as she holds out the possibilities of hope and recovery from this painful period of time. Shelley helps clients to find meaning and purpose as they embrace their grief with the underpinnings of growth and healing.

Losing someone through a relationship break up, the loss of life, or a major change in life circumstances can be the most profoundly sad experiences we endure in this life. A loss may feel insurmountable or you may be numb, rejecting the loss, avoiding the suffering that comes with acknowledging a new reality. It is sad but true that suffering is a part of human existence. But so is joy, happiness and contentment. Counselling can help you understand what you need in order to grieve. Recognizing the importance of your loss, accepting it and making plans for moving forward can help you continue on your path and learn to cope and survive your grief.

When someone to whom you are attached dies or abandons you, you may be devastated, lonely, angry, sleepless, miserable. You may believe that never again will you be happy. Maybe you feel guilt. Your grieving may be delayed or denied for many years because it is squeezed out by other concerns. Unfinished grieving has the power to disturb your life long afterward and you may not realize what the reason is. I will ask you the story of your loss. Dr. Janice is an expert in general grief work, child death, child loss and post abortion grieving. Grief counseling will help you to find peace and acceptance and to go on with your life. Other losses include loss of health, employment or relationship.

Grief and loss are both universal and unique experiences. We all experience them from time to time and the experience can be overwhelming and debilitating. I will help you understand that experiences inform us but do not define us - we can choose our path through grief and loss and leave it behind, changed but not broken or damaged. There is life in front of us to be lived and every experience we have is important and informative to who we become.

I will listen to the client's accounts of their loss. identifying the critical issues that are involved and validating their loss. The I will contextualize the loss(es) in terms of the meaning it has upon their life, and the general issues that are involved. Usually, I outline the stages of the grieving process and prepare the client for this, including some assignments that will assist them inexperiencing their losses and letting go eventually. This is avery delicate and intimate sharing process which I try to remain sensitive to as we proceed.

I believe that grief and loss are part of being human. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, though. Whether you’re mourning the death of a loved one, grieving the loss of a relationship or a dream for the future, grief and loss are the cold, marble floors upon which our hearts shatter. Our task is to surrender to the lessons they have to teach us and put ourselves back together with the help of that new-found knowledge. And no, I don’t think grief ever goes away. But I do believe we can integrate it into the tapestry of our lives to create a richer, more meaningful experience. That’ll be part of the work we do together. Ready for a different relationship to grief and loss? Let’s get started.

The death of a loved one, or the loss of a relationship, identity, role, possession, or job can be extremely difficult to live with. How do you endure and make sense of the unfathomable? Although grieving in relation to loss is a normal response, sometimes we become immobilized by it, and need help and support in order to deal with it effectively. Dr Sloat can support you by helping you to, 1) Process and work through your grief, 2) Find new meaning and purpose in the face of tragedy, and 3) Find the courage to eventually move on.

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.

If you have lost someone, I offer a compassionate and supportive space to explore your unique experience of loss. Listening carefully to your story, there's an opportunity to identify and honour your feelings, your memories and your relationship. Through gentle conversation and questions, there's a chance to rewrite your grief story, discover strengths, attend to resilience and find meaning amidst your pain. You can begin to acknowledge what you've been through while promoting healing, growth, a continued bond with the one who has passed and learning to live with loss

I am honoured that you are interested in my services and I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I have been described as slightly non-conventional in the counselling world, which suits me perfectly, and also tends to suit youth who are trying to stand up to the force of the problems in their life. I am very comfortable working with this population, and I feel fortunate that I can connect with teens the way I do, conventionally or in a way that makes sense to them.