Grief and Loss Counselling in West Point Grey, BC.

Whether you feel buried in the untimely loss of a loved one; you are experiencing the grief associated with losing a job you desperately needed; buckling from the pain associated with the breakdown of a precious relationship that you were greatly invested… there is hope to breathe again, to live a life of joy, to get out of bed in the morning. Let me walk by your side, and provide you tools that have been proven to lessen your load, and bring you back to that strong capable person you know you once were.

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.

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

GRIEF AND LOSS THERAPY Discovering how to live with and move through the pain of loss is a deeply personal process. There is no set amount of time or way to grieve. Only the time and manner that is right for you is right. Sadness, intense grief, anger and fear, a sense of lost identity, feelings of guilt, disorientation, a loss of purpose, a feeling of numbness may be part of your experience. As a counsellor who has worked with people of all ages and backgrounds, I bring a compassionate heart, a nonjudgmental approach and a warm environment where you can safely explore the feelings and thoughts that face you. Getting the support you need can make a huge difference.

It is not easy to lose someone, it hurts, creates regrets and anger. I walk with the person going through grief using different stages of grief, feeling num, self blame, how could it e prevented, how to deal with negative feelings, assisting with acceptance of the loss, how to fill the hole inside, healing the pain, helping able to cherish the memories of the loss and to move forward

The grief and loss process is unique for each individual. The loss of a partner, the end of a relationship, a loved pet that died years ago...these events can have a profound affect on us.In counselling we work through the various stages and tasks of greiving together,at the clients pace. Through this journey I offer support and compassion to the client at all times. The benifit to the client is that they work through their grief and eventually are able to honour the loss yet at the same time move on with their life in a positive way.

Are you a gay man that’s struggling with grief and loss? Grieving can be unique for gay men because it can include grieving the loss of people, relationships, and even experiences you may have never had. I help gay men by teaching them tools to make the grieving process more manageable, working through grief that feels “stuck,” and exploring what it means for you to live a fulfilling life while grieving.

Death is a natural part of the life cycle but whether expected or sudden we are often left with many emotions. My counselling approach gives you the opportunity to express your feelings in a safe and confidential environment, and allows room for exploration of your feelings. By expressing feelings of loss/grief, clients often report feeling less overwhelmed, sad, and depressed.

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.

I support people going through grief by using a mindful approach. This forgiving way of working through one of the most difficult, stressful and confusing times in life allows you to grieve at your own pace without any judgement. Often people with good intent ask if we are still grieving, perhaps they are not aware that there is no timeline to grief. If you are grieving and you need support I can help you navigate this very surreal time.

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.

Though every experience of loss is personal and unique, there are maps to help us navigate this painful process. Sometimes present grief is complicated by past losses that have re-surfaced and this can make dealing with it alone especially difficult. As an experienced and knowledgeable counsellor in the area of Loss and Grief, I can support you in not feeling overwhelmed. I am there as a compassionate listener and witness, as well as a guide, as your heart heals and you are able to celebrate life again.

Grief and loss affect everyone in different ways. Your lived experience will be our guide and it is always a privilege and an honour to walk with someone as they navigate and work through these most difficult, and often unexpected, times in life. Together we will find ways to integrate grief and loss into the story of who you are; to remember and cherish, to mourn and yet also find ways to thrive.

Grief and loss does occur anytime we experience the loss of someone or something that we love and identify with. Although it can be normal to grieve, there can come a time when someone may feel stuck in this grief process and then they dicsover they need some help in looking at the situation differently. I can help a client identify their feelings and help them move forward through surrender and acceptance. If there is unfinished business with this person or situation, I would help my client resolve this problem though forgiveness. The ultimate purpose would be to be able to move forward in a constructive and loving manner, leaving behind all grievances and guilt.

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.

My hope is that as clients work through the reality of the loss they have experienced, they will recover their clarity and inner direction, and will begin to create ways to move forward. Clients are encouraged to acknowledge the loss and to explore the gamut of emotions accompanying this loss. Clients are encouraged to express their gratitude for what was, and at their own pace, begin to move forward.

I help clients navigate their loss whether it be from the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the loss of something important such as a job, a pet, a friendship, or oneself. My approach to helping clients addresses regrets, change, acceptance, anger, and sadness. With people who have lost their loved one, I teach ways of keeping their loved one "alive" and honouring them rather than using traditional approaches of "letting go" and "moving on," which are being shown to be unhelpful and unreasonable for many clients. This fresh perspective helps my clients through a difficult time in their lives while teaching meaningful strategies to use throughout their lives.

Loss is a normal yet profound event in everyone's life. It can be expected or sudden and devastating. Either way it often leaves us feeling as though our world has been forever changed and we find ourselves feeling lonely, lost, angry, sad, shocked or confused. Sometimes others, our fast paced society, or we ourselves expect us to move on quickly and deny or forget it. But grief has it's own story and it needs to be told. Therapy can help you sort out the many facets of your grief and offer resources and strategies to help you cope. Grief changes us and challenges us to find new meaning in our lives when we give it the honor and respect it is due.

Grief & loss can seem debilitating and overwhelming and many people struggle in moving on. Counselling is a highly effective resource for healing after a loss. Through compassion and understanding we will work to heal the pain of the event and move into acceptance and peace. Whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one, the loss of health or mobility, divorce or mid life transition, we can help.

I work with compassion and insight helping clients face loss and grief. Whether the loss is a spouse, a child, a friend, a family member or a pet. I help my clients by explaining the stages of grief that they will most likely go through. I offer a safe place to move ahead from their loss and grief at their own speed. I also have a speciality of working with pet-loss.

Coping with the loss of a loved one can be a very painful experience. When you are caught up in strong emotions such as sadness, anger, fear, or shock, you may feel alone and misunderstood, and wonder if your experience is normal or if it will ever end. You do not have to walk this journey alone. I will come alongside you, to patiently and gently help you move through the grieving process toward a place of acceptance and peace so that you can recover a sense of contentment and meaning in life.

Angela Herd understands the grief process is a normal response to loss and is unique to each person. Loss comes in many forms and significant losses can affect one's relationships, self-concept and perception of the world. Angela is an experienced counsellor who offers support and relief. Angela provides a safe space that invites clients to share their experiences of loss; as well as, gain insight and skills to cope with strong feelings that may at times feel overwhelming and uncontrollable. Angela offers a wide range of options for expression that include traditional verbal therapy, art & play therapy, phototherapy and other creative modalities.Call Angela today for your free consultation.

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.

The loss of any relationship can be devastating. Grief for the death of a loved one can go through many phases before we come to accept the loss. In a family system, changes in relationships occur and we often see sides of our families that did not exist prior to the death. Often the end of a relationship can feel like a death and takes time to heal and move forward. Learning about the natural process of healing from Grif and Loss will be helpful in the weeks and months following a loss.

Grief and loss are exceptionally valuable to seek therapy for. Whether you are dealing with the loss of a loved one (person, animal), a place or going through some form of a life transition which inevitably means you are dealing with some form of loss (identity, purpose, role etc). Possibly even all of the above. My approach is to support you in accessing the feelings that may be hard to access and processing the often complex nature of these emotions and supporting you to integrate the part of you that is reeling from the loss with where you are at now so that it can be included and acknowledged, but allow you to be more with where you are now as well.