Grief and Loss Counselling in South River, ON.

In my approach to Grief & Loss Therapy, I aim to create a safe and empathetic space for clients to explore their emotions, process their grief, and navigate the complexities of loss. Drawing from psychodynamic principles, I help clients uncover and understand the underlying emotions, thoughts, and patterns that may be hindering their healing process. Through emotion-focused techniques, I assist clients in expressing and regulating their feelings related to the loss, allowing for catharsis and emotional growth.

What makes grief so painful? Perhaps it's because we experience a double loss. The first is losing a loved one, the second is losing a part of our ourselves. This is why the familiar saying, "you gotta let go," can sometimes make things worse. Instead of letting go, I'm interested in how we can bring people closer: closer to what we hold dear, closer to what we cherished most… In doing so, we can begin to develop a new relationship with our departed loved one, and simultaneously offer comfort and healing to parts of ourselves.

There is a natural process of grieving but sometimes, for various reasons we become 'stuck' and lost in the midst of the grief and losses we have experienced. Grief and loss occur not just when we have lost someone through death. There are so many losses: the loss of a marriage, the loss of a deep friendship, the loss of a job or even the loss of a long held dream or hope among so many others. It is possible to find hope and way to move forward in the midst of these losses. I will walk alongside you and help you to find new ways to move forward.

Everyone experiences grief and loss differently. And everyone, at some point or another experiences the loss of an important person, animal, place or thing in their life. If you have come to a decision where you feel you are ready to express the feelings and thoughts that you have been going through, I am here to listen. My goal is to guide you through your unique process so that the pain is no longer unbearable. I wish to help you understand your relationship to the person, animal, job, etc. that you lost and work through any feelings that may be inhibiting your overall health and well-being.

Therapy, including techniques like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), aids in grief processing by providing a structured framework to address trauma and loss. EMDR helps individuals reprocess distressing memories associated with grief, reducing their emotional intensity and enabling healthier coping. Within a therapeutic setting, Therapy offers a pathway for mourners to navigate complex emotions, integrate loss into their lives, and ultimately find peace amidst profound sorrow.

My approach to grief examines how we can come to a place of acceptance without the secondary grief we often experience when we feel forced to 'let go'. I'm interested in how we can honour the loss, allowing it to move forward with you, building a new relationship between the past and present. In my work with you we will explore your unique experience of grief.

Grief is primarily associated with the death of a loved one, whilst this is certainly true the term grief can be used more widely to capture any significant loss experienced in life. I work with clients to help them acknowledge the loss they have experienced and explore the emotional impact it has had and how this will shape their lives as they seek to move forwards and live their own lives.

Grief counseling helps people cope with grief and mourning following the loss of a loved one or due to major life changes that trigger feelings of grief (i.e. job loss or divorce). It provides a space for individuals to work through and process the complex emotions surrounding loss. Healthy grieving results in remembering the loss with a newfound sense of peace, rather than searing pain.

In my practice you will find a safe place to talk about and work through pain, and the feelings of sadness, confusion, guilt, shame and anger that often accompany the experience of grief and loss. Moving through grief and loss is your personal journey that takes time and is experienced uniquely from your own perspective. I provide therapy, counselling and and support for people who have lost a loved one such as a family member, friend or colleague whether through death or the ending of a relationship, those who have lost an important pet or animal companion or people who have experienced a loss that includes a loss of a job or personal identity.