Grief and Loss Counselling in Ottawa, ON.

Clients who are faced with grief and loss go through a number of stages in the grieving process. Counselling at Elim help clients go through these stages in a normal and healthy way without spiralling into complicated grief or chronic depression. In addition counsellors at Elim are trained in understanding the spiritual crisis that people of faith often go through when dealing with grief and loss.

Clients experiencing grief and loss can often benefit from a supportive therapeutic process. It can allow a space to explore feelings without having to take care of anyone else-it is just for them. Clients can also explore blocks or complications to grieving that might be contributing to their struggle, for instance older traumas, difficulty with feeling or expressing their emotions.

Clients benefit from the approach I use in addressing Grief and Loss because it addresses the root cause of making it a complicated feeling of loss. There is a lot of validations and support of the painful feelings the bereaved is going through. And, the approach does not stop there. I go further by bringing into the clients' awareness why he/she is feeling the way he/she is and teach the client how to go through the normal painful feelings without going into complilcated grief or depression.

Grief is a growth experience. Clients entering into grief counselling in my practice will feel supported, and validated in there pain however, in the process of softenning the pain, will achieve personal growth. The pain of loss from separation, death, chronic illness is tangible and real, it does not however, have to be crippling rather through therapy grief can be a liberating, changing experience.

Rather than drive our grief and loss underground or deep into our unconscious, therapy allows us to focus on the pain of our loss with all its multiple layers. Processing our thoughts with the spoken word rather than keeping them as mere mental reflections permits us to actively embrace our pain. We experience clarity and eventually direction to our grieving process. We can in time come to a place of sorrowful acceptance. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross gives us understanding of the grief and loss process in her Five Stages of Grief. However, it is important to note that these stages are not linear in their progression and are somewhat unique to each individual.

Grief and loss is hard, it is difficult and we all experience it in many phases of our life span. There is no right or wrong in grieving or any length of time however, there is life and hope after! It is learning to accept the grief, feel it and then move on with either with professional help or your own path to moving forward with your life.

How individuals and families cope with dying, death, grief, loss, and bereavement is unique to each individual. Those who are bereaved experience grief, or a person's response or reaction to loss, which encompasses physical, psychological, social, and spiritual components. Historically, many grief counselors and grief therapists have chosen to follow the popular "grief counseling theory of the time." However, in the twenty-first century there are constantly changing theories regarding grief and loss, and new challenges and questions raised by researchers, clinicians, and the bereaved themselves regarding what is or is not helpful during the bereavement process.

Often we need a safe place to grieve our losses, whether they be related to loss of life, marriage, health, life plan - without over-burdening friends and family. As well as talk therapy, I use other ways, such as empty chair, letter writing, EMDR and sand tray therapy, depending on each client's situation. This frees up energy, reduces distress, provides a sense of completion or letting go, as well as a readiness to move on.

I have worked extensively with the medically ill including Cancer patients. To adjust to a chronic illness is to grieve the loss of the healthy self and all that entails; to grieve the loss of a relationship; our work; anything of importance to us is to face pain of loss and move through it's tasks. I work in various models including relational, experiential, psycho-dynamic and Attachment based models to provide a safe, empathic environment for my clients to grow in.

Grief brings the hardest combination of all feelings - despair, anger, fear and love. It can right leave us with unmanagable pain, feeling disoriented and questioning everything. Sometimes it feels too painful to step back into the world that dares to carry on as if nothing happened. Sometimes we need someone to remind us that it is a place we are passing through and not a destination. I offer gentle guidance and strong support through grief. I work with you find ways to make sense of you loss, learn to manage your feelings in new ways and find your way back into life again.

Losing a loved one creates a feeling of abandonment and of life being unfair. Grieving is painful and you have to grieve at your own pace. Unfortunately life is not always that permissive. Having a safe space to grieve and be listened to is important. Through the grieving process, in the safe environment provided, unresolved pain can surface and be healed. The pain of losing someone is worked at until it become manageable to handle on an everyday basis.

Losses are a part of life, whether of a loved one or a lost job or missed opportunity, and yet can be very difficult to navigate through and find our way back to ourselves and our “new normal.” Having a compassionate and skilled professional to journey with you can be very helpful in processing losses, remembering loved ones or lost dreams, and understanding the meanings this loss holds for you. I am experienced with supporting individuals and families in a caring manner as they determine how to journey through grieving in a way that meets each one's unique needs and experiences, including possible spiritual concerns. Please see my profile in the Ottawa Bereavement Directory. Serving Ottawa

Grief is a normal reaction to loss, whether it is due to the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of job or any other loss. Grief impacts us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. How we grieve is affected by earlier experiences going right back to childhood, as well as by other experiences of loss. Grief is a process; part of the process of grief is ‘meaning making’. Psychotherapy and counselling can support and assist a person through the process of grief.