Grief and Loss Counselling in Lantzville, BC.

I offer counselling services at The Centre For Expressive Therapy to children and adults who are suffering from grief and loss. I use Holistic Expressive Therapy which I have developed that addresses the unique physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual needs of each individual. I design effective expressive therapies to address your specific needs. Together we will work through the stages of grief, the stages in the healing process and mediate the impact that grief, loss and bereavement has in your life. Expressive therapies will help you with issues such as fear, depression, anxiety and sleeping problems.

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.

After significant loss, you may experience difficult and surprising emotions, such as anger, shock and guilt. It may feel like the sadness will never go away. I know personally what this feels like and I support many people who are trying to find ways to cope and find their reason to continue. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. There are however many healthy ways to cope with the pain. You can get through it! I can help you.

Grief has a way of pulling the ground out from underneath you, and my work is to help you find steady footing again. In our sessions, we look honestly at the pain, the confusion, the anger—nothing is off-limits and nothing is “too much.” I guide you toward uncovering the meaning hidden inside your heartbreak, helping you rebuild a life that feels true rather than numb. Clients often experience a shift from simply enduring their loss to discovering a renewed sense of identity, purpose, and personal strength.

Experiencing a loss goes beyond the loss of the family, friend, pet, or child to be. Not only have you lost the loved one physically; you lose what your life was with them; and what your future with them would have been. Overcoming such loss can feel overwhelming and impossible to heal. Counselling can make a significant difference in getting through this difficult period. Family members who may mean well may not understand the loss and inadvertently cause us pain: by expecting us to ‘get over it’, and by impatient and unsympathetic. Counselling offers a compassionate sounding board that is sympathetic and non-judgemental. We are able to heal at our own pace in a supportive environment.

Grief and loss is an area of focus at Island Clinical Counselling. Therapy involves spending time in the emotions associated with the grief and loss in order to allow the individual to process the emotion in a healthy way. Experiencing grief and loss is like no other emotion and sometimes is connected to trauma. We ensure clients are treated in a trauma informed way so that their safety is prioritized.

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.

A loved one dying affects everyone in a family and each member will work through their grief in their own way and timeframe. Empathizing and listening while offering comfort and support as individuals work through their depression, anger and guilt of the emotional roller coaster of grief in a safe environment for expression of self will enable one to move forward towards a healthier life.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by loss, struggling to cope with the pain, and finding it hard to move forward? Grief can be isolating and exhausting, leaving you feeling stuck in sadness and longing for peace. As a clinical counsellor, I understand how difficult this journey can be. But I also know that healing is possible. Imagine having someone by your side who truly understands what you're going through, who offers compassionate support and effective strategies to help you heal. Together, we can navigate this difficult time and find a way to honour your loss, rebuild your strength, and rediscover hope. Let's start this journey together. Book a free 15-minute phone consultation today.

When working with grief and loss, I see that it affects a person's whole life in various ways. I recognize that it comes in waves and each person has their own timeline for working through it. I encourage clients to tell their story and not be afraid to share it with others, but that others will not always be open to hearing. Part of grieving is working through the memories and see each area of loss.

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.

Losing someone in your life can be a painful, frustrating, and bewildering experience. Part of the grieving process is to express your grief and to share what your loss means. Through therapy, there are ways to support grief so it can be felt, understood, and integrated over time. I offer a safe, confidential, nonjudgmental place to talk about your grief and to create your own unique roadmap through this process. Some of the grief-related issues I help people explore include anger, hurt, feelings of abandonment, ambiguous feelings following the death of someone with whom the relationship was complicated, guilt, loneliness, and other complex emotional responses. “Hope begins in the dark.”