Grief does not always announce itself, and it does not always look like sadness.
Maybe someone you loved has died. Maybe a relationship ended in a way you are still making sense of. Maybe you are grieving a future that is not going to happen, or a version of yourself you cannot return to. Whatever its shape, and whether or not parenting is part of why you are here, you are welcome. I have specific training in grief and bereavement counselling, and over twenty years of experience holding people through the kind of loss that does not have a tidy timeline.
Some of this might sound familiar.
Not a checklist to pass or fail. Just the shapes this tends to take, in case it helps to see them named.
You are navigating a death, and you are looking for someone trained in this work, not just willing to listen.
The loss is not a death, and you are tired of being told that what you are going through is "not really grief."
You are grieving someone who is still alive: a relationship that ended, a parent with dementia, an estrangement, a version of someone who used to be there.
You are early in the grief and looking for steady company through it.
Or you are years in and noticing the grief is not where you expected it to be.
The grief is mixed up with other things, anger, relief, guilt, a desire to be okay faster than you are, and you would like a space where all of those can be present at once.
If you see yourself in even one of these, you are in the right place.
What this might feel like
In their own words. Some of what people say, before they have a name for it.
Everyone keeps asking how I am doing. I do not know how I am doing. I just know it is not what I thought grief was supposed to feel like.
I am sad. I am also angry, and I am relieved, and I am ashamed of being relieved. I do not know what to do with any of it.
How I work with grief, loss, and bereavement
The work is paced around what you can actually hold. Grief work is not about timelines or stages; it is about making room for what is real, in the right order, at the right speed. We start with what is on your mind and in your body, and we get specific about what kind of loss you are carrying, because grief for a death feels different from grief for a relationship that ended, and both feel different from grief for a future you are not going to have. The methods I use are the same evidence-based modalities I use across my practice, Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, polyvagal-informed work, attachment-aware perspective, narrative therapy, adapted to grief work, plus the specific frameworks I trained in for grief and bereavement counselling.
You will not be rushed through the stages. You will not be told to find the silver lining. We will work at the pace your nervous system can hold, and we will be honest about what is shifting, what is staying the same for now, and what may always be different than it was before.
Practical details
Sessions and format
50-minute sessions, virtual across Ontario or in person Tuesdays in St. Agatha.
Virtual sessions across Ontario or in person in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. We can talk through which format fits your life on the consult call.
Fees and insurance
A receipt is provided for insurance reimbursement under Social Work Services, and many extended plans cover sessions. You confirm your coverage with your insurer.
For full details on session fees and payment, visit the Fees & Insurance page.
Every new client starts with a free 15-minute phone consultation. Once we have spoken, we will book a time that works for both of us. There is no obligation to continue.
Starting does not have to be complicated.
Book a free consult
A free 15-minute phone call. We talk about what is going on and whether we are the right fit. No obligation to continue.
Find your footing
Once we have spoken, we will book a time that works for both of us. The first sessions are slower and reflective; we get clear on what you are carrying.
Do the work, together
We work at the pace your nervous system can hold, and check in often about what is shifting and what you need next.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Many clients arrive carrying exactly that question. Grief does not need to be catastrophic to deserve attention, and it does not need to be recent to deserve attention either. If something has been taking up space in you that you have not had anywhere to put, this is a reasonable place to start. We can figure out together what the work would look like.
Probably the pace and the breadth. Some grief work focuses narrowly on the loss itself, and some clients need that. Other clients need a wider lens that includes who you are now, what the loss has changed in your life, and what you are doing with it. We can talk on the consult call about what your prior work focused on and what felt missing, and we will be honest together about whether what I do is likely to fit better.
Related areas
Grief often shows up alongside other things, and the work sometimes touches on more than one. The pages below cover the most common adjacent experiences.
Ready to talk?
Every new client starts with a free 15-minute phone call. We talk about what is going on, what you are hoping for, and whether we are the right fit. No paperwork. No pressure.