Loss comes in many forms.

Grief Comes in Many Forms

Loss is something we all face at one point or another.  It's an inevitable, common human experience, yet can come with such overwhelming emotions that it can feel isolating.  It’s not just bereavement from the death of a parent, pet, friend, or family member—it can also be losing a job or a relationship, and the future we had envisioned along with it.  Any version of loss can create a transition period in our lives that takes time to sort through.  Grief can also arise from the loss of identity, purpose, or connection.  For some, it comes in waves.  For others, it settles into the body like a weight or numbness.  However it shows up, grief deserves space, care, and support.

What Grief Can Feel Like

There are many factors that influence whether or not we get caught up in the waves of grief.  For some, especially those who are caregivers, first responders, or in high-functioning roles, grief can feel hidden or delayed, showing up as burnout, fatigue, or self-criticism.  In my own journey with grief, as well as in supporting clients through theirs, I’ve noticed that what makes it particularly challenging is how and whether we process our emotions and if we have support systems in place to help us do so in a healthy way.  Not all of us get the goodbye we wished we had (especially during the pandemic) and not all of us have been taught or learned how to show and express sadness, let alone the immense despair that threatens to pull us under the surface.  A helpful metaphor I often use with clients comes from this TED talk.  If we can expect that over time, we will learn to 'move forward with' rather than 'move on from', it becomes easier to be kind to ourselves when we are hit with one of the emotional moments.  

Types of Grief I Support

I work with people experiencing many types of grief, including:

• The death of a loved one (recent or long ago)

• Ambiguous loss (estrangement, addiction, or mental illness in a loved one)

• Moral injury or cumulative grief among first responders and veterans

• Loss of identity due to burnout, illness, caregiving, or separation/divorce

• Parents grieving disconnection from a child or unmet hopes for their relationship

Grief doesn’t always look like sadness—and it’s not something you need to go through alone.

How Therapy Can Help with Grief and Loss

As a grief counsellor in Vancouver, I can be an additional support to sort through the stages of grief and the myriad emotions that arise as a part of it.  Without my own therapist, the losses I have gone through would have been much more challenging so I hope to provide that same support to you.  

Grief therapy offers a place to slow down, express what’s hard to say elsewhere, and move at your own pace. You don’t need to be “over it” by any timeline. Our work together can help you:

• Make sense of emotional waves or numbness

• Process stuck or complicated feelings like guilt or anger

• Reconnect with a sense of self and direction

• Honour your loss without losing yourself in it

An Invitation

If this resonates with you, reach out and let’s chat.  I offer both in-person grief therapy in Vancouver, and online grief therapy across BC, Yukon, and other provinces.  The next step is to schedule a free 15-minute consultation call where you can ask questions and get a sense of whether we’re a good fit.