Grief and Loss Counselling in Streetsville, ON.

We all grieve differently; there is no right or wrong way to grieve. It is a uniquely personal experience. My therapeutic approach is to meet my clients where they are and address their current needs. That may be sitting in a safe space and expressing your emotions, talking about how life will be different after the loss or focusing on self-care. I will provide guidance, validation, and support but this journey is yours so I will check in with you regularly to ensure that your needs are being met. Please contact me if you would like to book a free consultation.

Grieving is not something to overcome, rather to be respected. It is the careful and essential process toward healing; toward finding acceptance and understanding. It can’t be rushed, but it can be directed. Through compassion and therapeutic guidance, grief can do its work effectively. Profound changes in our lives can be daunting. Despite years of experience, I am humbled by those in grief. Grieving is complicated. The boundaries of pain reach beyond sadness, loss, and adjustment, often to unfinished business, guilt, and anger. It seems unimaginable, but with guidance, fragmented emotions can find balance again. Life will find its way.

My gentle, compassionate approach centres on offering practical and spiritual support to clients going through a grieving process, depending on the client’s particular needs and preferences. I find it is helpful and empowering for clients to understand the origins of the grief response so they’re better able to recognize and normalize it and support themselves as it arises, thus facilitating the healing process. In grief counselling, I draw from Nancy Reeves’ Energy Model as well as literature by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

I am happy to help individuals cope with the distress associated with the loss of a loved one, or any significant loss in their lives. I provide empathy, validation, and non-judgmental support to clients as they navigate their grief journey. Together we may work on: understanding your emotions, processing complex feelings around grief, healthy coping strategies, meaning making and long-term healing.

As loss may be best described as the absence of something valuable, grief is the reaction to this absence. It permeates every area of our lives. The way we experience grief is personal and changes as we adapt to the loss. Feelings of guilt, disbelief, anger, yearning, and sorrow are often present. Going through the stages of grief is difficult. Together, we will explore the healing journey ensuring you are self-companionate while honouring the one’s you have lost and to explore and understand your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that are integrated into your bereavement process. Schedule a free consultation to see if we are a good fit.

Processing loss is painful, confusing and often isolating. This is not something that is as simple as progressing through "stages" in order and typically involves emotions that we have been taught to avoid or suppress. Working with a therapist to unpack and go through grief and loss can offer some space and perspective that is not there when we talk with friends and family. Here you can have a non-judgmental space to take the time to work this out in the way that you need. This is not always easy, but we can navigate this together.

Grief is a highly individual process and is often experienced differently by different people. You may be seeking counselling as you are struggling with a recent loss or because your sense of grief has become overwhelming to you. Grief involves adaption to the loss and this takes time and compassion and self compassion. Whether loss is gradual, sudden, anticipated, imposed, death or non death related, psychotherapy provides the opportunity to explore ones emotional, cognitive or physical reactions to loss and gain perspective and/or meaning.

Grief and loss touch every part of life, and I believe the healing process begins with having a safe, compassionate space to express and process the full range of emotions that come with loss. In grief therapy, I gently guide clients through understanding and honoring their unique experience, whether it involves the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or other life-altering changes. Together, we work to process painful emotions, explore meaning, and find ways to integrate the loss into life while nurturing resilience and hope. My approach blends evidence-based tools with deep empathy, helping clients move toward a renewed sense of connection, balance, and purpose at their own pa

Grief and loss can affect every part of a person’s life, and each individual experiences it in their own way and at their own pace. In my work with clients, I often draw on the Tasks of Mourning approach developed by J. William Worden, which focuses on helping individuals process the reality of a loss, work through the pain of grief, adjust to life without their loved one, and find ways to maintain a meaningful connection while continuing to move forward. While this framework is helpful, I do not take a rigid or one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, I adapt therapy to each client’s unique experience, providing a compassionate, supportive space where emotions can be expressed openly and withou

Grief can be debilitating. It is one of those things that leaves us feeling out of control. Out of touch with ourselves and others, and even paralyzed. These feelings that we experience because of grief often push us to AVOID our grief. This is problematic in itself, however, as it only generates further emotional distress over time. Instead, finding comfortable and trustworthy support through the grieving process is a productive and healthy way to not only process the pain, but slowly find comfort and new ways of being and accepting.

At some point in our lifetimes, everybody is faced with grief and loss, children and youth included. When counseling my young clients, it is evident that children and youth have many questions and feelings surrounding this issue. They often feel scared, sad and alone. Talking to a therapist is a good way for clients to face their feelings and make sense of the situation. I help children normalize these feelings so that they know it is okay to feel sad, it is okay to have questions, and they are not alone. The pain may never go away but releasing the emotions and gaining some perspective and understanding, makes it easier to move forward a day at a time.

Art therapy and counselling support the gentle processing of grief related to loss, including death, relationship endings, identity shifts, and life transitions. Grief often lives in the body and can be difficult to put into words. Through somatic awareness, reflective conversation, and creative expression, clients can explore their grief at their own pace, honour what has been lost, and find ways to integrate the experience while rebuilding a sense of connection and meaning.

Hope Centered Counselling understands first hand the pain associated with losing someone, losing a fur baby, and the loss when something changes in your life. A relationship changing, a change in career, or moving somewhere new can come with significant losses. We get it, and we want to help you walk through the experience, and hold space for the hard parts.

Individuals often come to see me for therapy in my practice in the downtown area of Toronto in order to help them cope with grief, bereavement, and difficulty adjusting to painful loss. For some clients this includes the loss of a close family member, for others this includes the loss of an intimate relationship. In either case, the opportunity to discuss such losses and to understand their impact is an important part of the psychotherapy process.

Grief doesn’t follow a timeline. To live is to grieve: whether it’s the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the quiet grief that comes with life transitions, how we position ourselves with regards to our loses greatly determines how we adapt, grow and flow with the act of living. I help clients process loss in a way that honours the existential and spiritual complexity of their processes. Together, we create space to grieve, reflect, and gradually reconnect with life.

If you are dealing with grief and loss, I am here to support you. Whether you are struggling with overwhelming feelings or you do not know what to feel, the therapeutic space I am offering is one of validation, compassion, and curiosity. We will work together to process your experience in a way that is meaningful to you, changing our approach as your grief changes. Processing grief is rarely easy, but I will be with you every step of the way to witness and support your experience.

In times of deep loss, finding a way forward can feel overwhelming. With rich experience supporting those living with terminal illnesses and families who have lost loved ones, I understand there are no "right" ways to grieve. I offer a compassionate, non-judgmental space where you can share your unique journey. I’ll be here with you, honoring your feelings and helping you heal at your own pace, with empathy and care. Please schedule a free consultation with me to see if we are a good fit.

In the depths of grief, finding solace can feel like an impossible journey. You're not alone, and your pain is valid. I'm here to provide a compassionate and understanding space where you can navigate your own path to healing. No judgment, no expectations—just support tailored to your needs. Together, we'll honor your journey and explore ways to find peace amidst the pain. Reach out today to start your healing process. Your first consultation is free, and I'm here to support you.

I provide compassionate, supportive counseling for individuals navigating grief and loss, understanding that healing is a deeply personal and nonlinear process. Using evidence-based approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness, and trauma-informed care, I help you process complex emotions like sadness, anger, guilt, and confusion. Together, we create a safe, nurturing space to honor your unique experience, explore your feelings without judgment, and develop coping strategies to adapt to life after loss. My goal is to support you with empathy and patience as you gradually rebuild resilience, find renewed hope, and reconnect with meaning and purpose.

Grief and loss comes in many different forms from the death of a loved one or pet, to the loss of a relationship, job or something else that was important to you. Every person experiences grief and loss differently but one thing that is common to all of us is the benefit of having a safe place to work through your thoughts and feelings to arrive at a place of more peace and acceptance.

We all must deal with grief sometime in our lives. However, there are times we lose someone dear to us and it feels as if we will never see the sun again. Processing our loss through therapy helps to make that dark journey less difficult and in time blur the sharp painful edges of pain. During therspy we will look at and restructure negative debilitating thoughts and replacing them with more constructive and positive ones. We never fully get over the loss, but we learn how to celebrate and cherish our missed loved ones.

When it comes to grief and loss, I choose to use a client-centered approach to therapy. During our sessions, I will work with you, with unconditional positive regard for your situation and emotions, to recognize personal strengths and discover answers within your personal values and beliefs. I believe we are all equipped to make it through various degrees of grief and loss. Using this approach builds upon the individual strength you possess and provides a safe place to explore the emotions and questions you may be encountering.

Grief is experienced in unique ways and are often influenced by family background, culture and personal experiences, values, and core beliefs. While grief is often thought of a response to death, grief may also be a reaction to significant life-altering events of loss, such as a divorced, loss of a job, loss of property or income, which can lead to social withdrawal, anger and confusion. Shauna can help you cope with your responses to loss and traumatic change.

Every person's grief and loss is unique. I will work with you to process that unique experience through discussion in sessions, and exercises that I will give you to process your thoughts and feelings. These exercises wll be specific to your loss. We will also embrace the healing power of time, and the notion of radical acceptance of what cannot be changed.

Loss can be experienced in many different ways, for example, the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, losing abilities that one would normally have, etc. Grief is a very personal journey, and there is no set time line for how long you are to grieve. You will experience a range of emotions, including: denial, anger, sadness, depression, hoplessness, and you may even try to bargain with yourself or God. If you are experiencing any of these feelings, I assure you, my office is a safe place to process your grief. I will walk beside you and help you process your journey.