Grief and Loss Counselling in Balzac, AB.

No matter what your loss, you may experience difficult, overwhelming and surprising emotions. As a counsellor and registered nurse, I have been a companion on many people’s journey through grief. I have been there through the final hours of life, with loved ones when death is traumatic and sudden, when death is through suicide and when parents have lost their precious child. I also understand what it is like to lose one’s health. If you have difficulty facing your grief or coping with the pain of loss, are blaming yourself for the loss, have unresolved issues or are depressed, I can help you.

Experiencing grief and loss can feel like navigating through a fog of pain and confusion. This intense emotional journey often brings feelings of deep sadness, loneliness, and disconnection from daily life. My approach provides a compassionate, understanding space where you can openly express and process your grief. Together, we'll explore healing paths, helping you to gradually find closure and peace. As we work, you'll begin to rediscover joy and meaning in life, transforming grief into a respectful memory that honors your loss while allowing you to embrace the present and future.

Grief and bereavement are very normal responses to loss. However, the experience of grief and bereavement can be extremely difficult and feel paralyzing or overwhelming. Whether you have lost a loved one, a beloved pet, or have experienced a change in ability or circumstance, I can help you explore loss, learn tools to process grief, and build a plan for coping.

I empathize and listen to individuals facing loss and grief. Many clients would benefit from my Rogerian Approach (Client-Centered Therapy) because when clients have lost a relationship, boyfriend, girlfriend, marriage, or someone they love and care for, it is important that they have someone who can really listen to them and understand what they are going through. Each individual may be unique to how a person grieve a loss. Therefore, I make sure that I respect my clients' unique ways of handling their loss. At the same time, I offer feedback and professional opinions regarding various grieving processes out there--in current literature/research.

Do you find yourself thinking about all of the ways that you could have or should have prevented that painful thing from happening? Sentences starting with "If only I", "If only they", "I should have", I shouldn't have" are all thoughts brought on by grief and loss and the desperation to change painful experiences and life events that result in loss. Do you revisit painful losses or feel trapped by grief that has a grip on you that will not let go? At Mindful Centre we understand grief and loss and we can help you to process the pain while honoring the ones you love and finding comfort and healing.

Navigating grief and loss can be an overwhelming and complex journey. I provide compassionate support to help you process and understand your emotions during these challenging times. Whether you're dealing with the loss of a loved one, a significant life change, or any form of loss, my approach focuses on helping you find meaning, cope with your feelings, and gradually rebuild your life. Together, we'll work through your grief at a pace that feels right for you, offering tools and strategies to facilitate healing.

Grief is a process that is unique to the individual experiencing it. It has a cyclical cycle, rather than linear, and part of getting through it is working on the skills of accepting and releasing as well as identifying personal needs. Learning to identify emotions and knowing how to express them is extremely helpful in building self-awareness and empathy for yourself, as well as others which in turns increases resiliency.

Loss is a naturally part of life. However, when things get in the way of the natural grieving process, grief can last longer or hurt more than is necessary. I work with clients to eliminate or cope with factors that might inhibit healthy processing as I walk them through they pain they are experiencing from grief. As well, grief is easier when shared and the catharsis of confiding in another.

Grief is a potential reaction to a loss of any kind whether through death, divorce, abandonment, separation, job loss, illness, disease diagnosis, kids leaving home, etc. Feelings of anger, resentment, shame, confusion, isolation or abandonment can result. Friends and family may not know what to say or how to provide support. A trained professional, who is profoundly sympathetic, respectful and empathetic, with the skills required to help one navigate through this difficult time, can be critical in helping one regain equilibrium.

It is impossible to live without experiencing the loss of someone or something that really matters to us. Grieving is a normal human experience but the emotional pain can often be unbearable. Although grieving does not necessarily have an end point, therapy can assist you to cope more effectively with the loss and return sooner to a meaningful and satisfying life.

After significant loss, you may experience difficult and surprising emotions, such as anger, shock and guilt. It may feel like the sadness will never go away. I know personally what this feels like and I support many people who are trying to find ways to cope and find their reason to continue. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. There are however many healthy ways to cope with the pain. You can get through it! I can help you.

Standard Grief: Sadness directly related to a loss. Complex Grief: Sadness related to a loss. Includes additional meanings and associated emotions as in: Regret – “I am a horrible person” Anger – “The universe took something too soon” Hopelessness – “ My life has not meaning now” Fear – “I am at risk of losing more” Helpless – “I am incapable- I cannot go on” Complex grief is grieving that get stuck because of the complicating meaning the trauma of loss has triggered. In order to treat complex grief, we remove the LBs associated with the loss, as shown above, and this lets the standard grief progress through the regular stages of grief, to arrive at a healthy perspective on the loss.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by loss, struggling to cope with the pain, and finding it hard to move forward? Grief can be isolating and exhausting, leaving you feeling stuck in sadness and longing for peace. As a clinical counsellor, I understand how difficult this journey can be. But I also know that healing is possible. Imagine having someone by your side who truly understands what you're going through, who offers compassionate support and effective strategies to help you heal. Together, we can navigate this difficult time and find a way to honour your loss, rebuild your strength, and rediscover hope. Let's start this journey together. Book a free 15-minute phone consultation today.

Grief and loss are inevitable and an inescapable part of life. Grief can of course include the loss of someone to death, but it can also be ambiguous. Ambiguous loss can include the loss of relationships, family connections, our identities, our careers, or even who we were pre-pandemic? Grief around post-traumatic events or grieving the loss of a childhood you never had are also types of losses and grief that I can help you with.

[I OFFER VIDEO SESSIONS THROUGHOUT ALBERTA AND ONTARIO]. You are hurting now, and I understand that. I have been a psychologist since 1986 with plenty of hard-earned wisdom. I too have experienced grief and loss many times in my life. I can help. Let us chat about the pain you are feeling now. Book with me right now by going to https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

Gerard has diverse experience as a psychologist and leader in social services, schools, university, workplaces, and his private practice. Using a theoretical foundation of social learning and cognitive-behavioural training, he is well-versed in various kinds of formal and informal assessment and solution-focussed approaches. He listens carefully to understand your needs and relies on his extensive experience to help you find solutions.

Too often our society avoids grieving a loss, and much too often emotions are unnecessarily dulled by the use of tranquilizers. Dr Mervin (Paraklesis Counselling) can come alongside you with a hope-focused approach that is directed at the tasks of bereavement (rather than the phases of bereavement) that will help you make meaning of the loss. In addition, he will assist you with your medication-related counselling needs, especially where abnormal grief has set in and the depression needs to be treated.

The loss of a loved one can be one of the most challenging emotional experiences that people face in their lives. Loss and grief can also be experienced for other reasons such as when an individual or a loved one develops a serious disability or life-threatening illness. I support people through the symptoms of grief and the difficult life adjustments that follow. The goal of counselling is reached through the expression of emotions, memories and thoughts about the loss, while normalizing its effects. The hope is that eventually people work toward rebuilding and find their new sense of normal.

When it all comes crashing down, everyone needs a safe place to be heard. It should be easier for Christians - but often it is far more difficult. It's hard to find a safe place to ask the really hard questions. It's even harder to receive subtle messages to, "Contain your sorrow," from others. So, if you're tired of putting on a brave face, come and experience a place where you can be really understood and real help with navigating through that surreal fog and haze. Life's losses are never a place for pat answers or bandaid solutions.

At Living Well we journey along side our clients suffering from a loss & offer respect as clients work through their grief. In addition to grief/loss you may be suffering with anxiety or depression, difficult decisions, family concerns & so forth. As such, we attempt to understand all that is going on and then recommend a therapist that's right for you.

Losing someone or something that is close to us, can leave us feeling as though we have a gaping hole in our hearts. Grief and Loss counselling will help you feel less alone during this time of struggle and provide the support needed to find new ways to flourish. It's incredible what kind of growth and new meaning can come from allowing ourselves to be transformed for the better by our loss.

Grief is a natural process that can hurt like your heart's literally being ripped out or like there's a huge hole inside - however you experience it, it's a pain that can defy description. I can guide you through the healing process, which can look different for everyone depending on the situation. It's not about forcing you to move on - it's about helping you grow around the loss until you personally feel comfortable living a full life again.

Feeling lost and alone? Wish others understood, or knew what to say? I journey with people touched by loss in their life, big or small (in fact, in my mind, no loss is really 'small,' because it's significant to YOU). What we do with our disappointments and losses will define who we are (Dan Allender). Whether you're stuck with grief from the past, or coping with life changes today, having friends along the journey who can be with you in your pain are what you need. Together you and I can help you move through this difficult phase of your journey, resulting in renewed hope and yes, joy, that comes from a healed heart.

Clients can expect a client centered, supportive and informative understanding of what to expect regarding grief and loss issues as well as how to work through these issues through hands-on therapeutic techniques. I currently use some emotionally focused therapy techniques as well as models from three different grief cycles for grief issues which can include anything from death and loss of a loved one to giving up substances or breakup of a relationship.

Losses can be very difficult to cope with. They often disrupt our routines including positive and rejuvenating activities and connecting with others who are supportive. My approach involved helping clients discuss, process, and grieve their loss in a supportive, safe, and caring place; helping clients re-connect with supportive friends and family and re-initiate positive activities as well as developing new activities and finding new support. Also, cognitive therapy can be a helpful addition which can be used to help clients develop acceptance and realistic thinking and emotions related to their recent loss.