Grief and Loss Counselling in Metchosin, BC.

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.

Loss can break, alienate, initiate, and open. It can lead to oceans of feelings looming over us, a sense of being distanced from oneself and others—far away adrift at sea, rage at the injustice of loss, and even shame at experiencing rage. I can't predict what the waves may be like for you, but I can help you respond to them. Whether your instinct is to hold, brace, jump, dive, run, scream, float, or let the waves wash over you, together we can feel out what to do and what to make of it all.

Major loss and grief effects many of us to some extent in our lives. I believe in the value of the grieving process and the importance of not rushing through it or cutting it off. Grief can be unpredictable and needs to be honored as we move through life’s most difficult challenge. I can work with you through the full range of feelings—anger, fear, gratitude, love, despair – whatever is coming up for you on a given day.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I can help you make peace with the aftermath of the loss of loved ones, friends, and pet friends too! The feelings of loss and bereavement can be overwhelming and difficult to process. I will create a safe space for you to confront and come to terms with how loss is affecting you, and help you adjust to the many changes that loss has on our lives.

Grieving is one of the most painful experiences you can have. It may be caused by the death of someone you love, illness, disappointment or for many other reasons. It may start even before the loss and usually continues long after it. You may feel devastated, abandoned, angry, sleepless, depressed, miserable, in pain or lonely. You may think you will never feel happy again. Sometimes grieving is delayed or denied for a long time. Maybe you don't even know why you feel so unhappy. Dr Janice is an expert in general bereavement counseling with special expertise in child death and post abortion grieving. I will ask you to tell me the whole story of your loss and help you find comfort and relief.

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.

We understand that grief and loss profoundly impacts individuals and families. We also understanding grief means understanding the relationship or relationships that have been lost. We want to understand the love and the loss experienced and help to hold space for the grief, create meaning, and healing. We further understand that some grief is complicated. We are here to support you.

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.

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.

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.

Loss is a transition and grief, the feeling that accompanies it. Resolving grief requires retrieving some part of the essence lost. Unless you know where the loss is taking you, you won't understand the journey. The destination is greater wholeness, and you carry the intangible value. To overcome loss, you must become a resource. To overcome death, you must become a life-giving force. What was previously your physical companion has now become your spiritual guide. To take them into your heart, you must purify both your heart and your connection to them. I work with the American Alpine Club Grief Fund to restore connection, purpose, and meaning for those whose who grieve.

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.

To provide the psychoeducation with the process and stages of grief and loss: Depression, Denial, Bargaining, Anger, and Acceptance. To provide talk therapy and allow the client to express themselves, however, also incorporate some SFBT and use positive psychology language. To also emphasize that grief has no timeline and certain life events can be a trigger such as brithdays, holidays, or other occasions.

In my grief counselling practice, I specialize in guiding individuals through the intricate emotions that emerge following the loss of a loved one or a significant life change. I provide a secure and nurturing space where you can openly express your feelings, delve into memories, and address the challenges associated with grief. As your dedicated counsellor, I am committed to fostering a compassionate and understanding environment, supporting you on your journey to healing and finding a path forward.

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 can offer you a compassionate and healing presence, where you can begin to sort out your feelings and needs. You are unique in your healing process, and I will be there to listen and offer support and understanding. Only when we are deeply heard is it possible to move forward and change. It is possible to move beyond grief and loss with the right support, and you are never meant to do this alone.

Life isn’t always what we want it to be. People die; relationships can end; life gives some terrible surprises. Normally when we experience loss we slowly adjust to a new reality. But we can experience “complicated grief” – getting stuck in grieving somehow. Negative feelings, like anger, regrets, or guilt can hang around. Life can seem more difficult (work, your relationship, your feelings about yourself, e.g.). Perhaps you feel alone, or stuck fighting. Counselling can help you identify and process what is going on. I can help you connect to your past while figuring out how to move forward. I provide a safe, unbiased place to share your story and resolve your experience.

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.

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.

When losing someone or something important to us, it can take lots time to adjust and learn to live our life without that person, thing or way of life. Either it is the death of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of a pet, loss of a job or important possessions, change to your way of life, grieving is a normal response to a life event and bottling it up can create damage or even harm to a person. It can take time to adjust and accept to learn to live life without that person, thing or way of life. When it gets too challenging or overwhelming, or if it gets in a way of living a healthy life, sometimes turning to professional support can help getting through this challenging event.

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.