Grief and Loss Counselling in Tsawwassen, BC.

If you have lost someone close to you through death, relocation or the end of a relationship, and feel isolated and lonely, it takes time and support to gently move forward in life. If you are shy or feel anxiety in social situations it can be hard to reach out for help and create the supportive relationships you need. I can help you move forward, gain a new sense of self worth, and begin to create meaningful nurturing social connections.

Do you wake up in the morning and have a wave of sadness wash over you as you remember the pain of your loss? Although bereavement is part of life there are times when the circumstances surrounding a loss of a loved one makes it very difficult to come to terms with. Together we will hold a space that will allow you the opportunity to be comforted and heal.

Grief is a part of life for which we can never truly prepare, and looks different for everyone. There are many reasons why people experience grief which may be due to the loss of a loved one, loss of a pet, loss of a job to name a few. I provide grief therapy in order to help you understand your grief. I will also help to educate you on the different stages of grief so that you can better understand the process of grieving. Grief and loss counselling assists you in processing grief, working with you to find your new normal in the face of loss.

I believe that having a safe and comfortable place to express your grief can help anyone who is grieving a loss. Allowing yourself to feel your emotions is very important. The most important part of supporting a bereaved person is to acknowledge your feeling and to be with you. As time passes, the pain of early bereavement begins to fade. The depression lessens and you can begin to look forward to the future. I help you envision and map out a positive future while keeping your loved one 's spirit in your life.

Loss can leave one with a myriad of emotions (feeling overwhelmed, confused, depressed, deeply sad, angry, among others). If left to our own accord, most will eventually begin to feel generally better; however, some lasting emotionality is not uncommon. In other cases, individuals experience a persistent and long-lasting deep sense of loss. In either event, counselling can help individuals to honour the emotionality of grief and loss while reducing the overall effect on their daily living. Ego-State therapy, is particularly well designed for grief and loss interventions, helping individuals to understand the loss, as well as finding and bolstering their own personal coping resources.

My Approach to Grief and Loss Counselling includes: Being an Active Listener, Communication, Being Empathetic, Having Compassion, Discovering Strategies and Techniques for Coping with Your Loss, Having a Safe Environment, and Being Non-Judgemental. Benefits Of Counselling with me: I let you Talk about your Loss Openly and Without Guilt. I give you the Emotional Support you need to be able to Express Your Emotions Freely. I will help you to Understand how you can Live Without your Loved One, and how to Recognize and Manage your Intense Feelings that You are Experiencing. We will Learn the Different Ways You Grieve, and How this can Benefit You, and then Prepare for Triggers.

The loss of a loved one, human or non-human, has a tremendous impact on our emotional well-being, our day to day functioning, and our identity. Dr. Rochefort helps individuals experiencing grief or loss to process the emotional tidal wave, develop skills to support emotional safety, process the grief or loss, and redefine a new life that is worth living.

Loss may comee in many forms. The most obvious is relationship loss. A partner, spouse, relative or friend whos is not lomger with us can be an incredibly intense experience. Even someone who has moved away can leavchments to their e a void that may be difficult to fill. Other types of loses include that of ones pet. Many individuals form strong to their pets and this loss can be devistating. Grief is a naturel process that promotes healing. If grief persists for too long then it may dominate a persons ability to return to normal functioning

When a person is in deep sorrow from grief and loss, the person is feeling a terrible sense of aggravated state of losing someone or something special. It is like a massive amount of money loss feeling and tons of heavy weight is dropping inside someone's heart. I suggest to my clients what they have been missing out and think about the opposite and consider people around the client. So I guide them to think about their emotional path from deprived, incorrectly positioned and misplaced ways, to privileged and correctly positioned ways and laying your emotions out properly. Some of the most effective suggestions are; you allow it to pass it, and share it with people around you. Matt 11:28-30

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.

Grieving is a process and a journey, not a feeling. When we lose someone, the feelings that arise are often unexpected, sometimes even random. And whatever those feelings are, we owe it to ourselves to feel them. They will, in fact, demand to be felt. As a therapist, I try to be a vessel to receive the feelings that come. I do so without judgement.

Grief and loss are integral parts of life but the emotional devastation that we can experience as a result, can be extremely hard to manage. It's natural that we want to minimize the emotional fallout - it's so hard on our hearts! Medical research has shown that the physical effect on our hearts looks just like a heart attack! The good news is that it's possible to recover. With help to navigate such painful places, I've seen people experience new insights, develop new ways of understanding themselves and others and transform a broken heart into a functioning one again. It's not an easy road, but it leads to a lighter place.

In my work with grief and loss, I utilize Dr. Alan Wolfelt’s “grief as a garden” approach which offers a gentle, nurturing framework for understanding the grieving process. By viewing grief as a garden that requires tending, individuals are encouraged to honor their emotions, embrace vulnerability, and allow healing to unfold naturally over time. In a therapeutic context, this metaphor fosters self-compassion and patience, reminding clients that growth often comes from intentional care—such as cultivating self-awareness, processing feelings, and seeking support. This perspective can empower individuals to see grief not as a problem to solve but as a journey toward renewal and transformation