Grief and Loss Counselling in Ottawa, ON.

Grief and Loss is a challenging area for many people because it is so unique to each person. I believe that the work centers around self-compassion where individuals learn to be kinder to themselves. Furthermore, I will collaborate with you to build an Activity Plan to ensure you continue to find purpose in your daily life. I will also teach you strategies that will help you improve your ability to focus on the present moment. Together we will find the best support plan to allow you to grieve while continuing to live a meaningful life!

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.

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 and loss can be difficult to manage on your own. I would like to lend a helping hand as you navigate through this challenging time. Everyone's grief and loss is handled differently, and there really is no right or wrong way, it's your way! I will offer you support, and we will work together through your healing journey.

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.

Helping clients go through the stages of grief and loss by validating their experience and educating them on what these stages consist of and strategies to help them cope with the variety of emotions that they will be processing through this difficult time. Also helping clients recognize that grief and loss are a part of any type of loss that we may encounter, whether it be the loss of a relationship, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, etc.

I can support you as you journey through the waves/ fog of grief and loss, including through divorce, health issues or life transitions. I will help you: to have hope and confidence that you can resolve these issues; and to make choices that will lead you to your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. I offer relaxation exercises and cognitive therapy. I am trained in EMDR which greatly helps overcome anxiety, stress and trauma. I offer EFT which also positively shifts our thinking and modifies our anxiety response. I serve adults, & young adults 16 and over and seniors. This is your opportunity. I am here to help you.

The pain of grief can truly be lessened by working with a counsellor. Talking about the loss and how it has affected you will help you feel the emotions, which helps them to pass through you. It is also helpful to have a professional inform you on what to expect when grieving, what types of symptoms are related to the grief, and specific approaches to comfort yourself.

Grief can be a clinical issue as: 1) Immediate and profound loss-death of a loved one – including either a sudden and unexpected or drawn-out and exhausting loss or 2) Unresolved grief – often unacknowledged as well - to whatever degree- of losses as described in (1) or can reflect more nuanced emotional losses – loss of safety, hope, joy, etc. Human life is full of loss and in the face of this undeniable fact, the challenge for the therapist lies in assisting and challenging the grieving client, to find, from within themselves, meaning, as related to such a profound and overwhelming loss.

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.

The Grief and Loss Service (GLS) at the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships (CFIR) offers clients counselling and psychotherapy to support them to address past and present grief and loss. Unprocessed grief and loss can affect our emotional well-being, our functioning in everyday life and our interpersonal relationships. We help you to understand the meanings of your losses, and to process the unresolved or complicated emotional residue from these losses. We support you throughout your grieving process so that you may move forward with your life with a renewed sense of meaning, purpose and hope. CFIR psychologists and clinicians employ psychodynamic and experiential approaches to support

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.

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.