GRIEF AND LOSS
There is no right way to grieve, and no schedule for it. You do not have to carry this alone.
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
A DIFFERENT WAY TO SEE IT
Grief is love with nowhere to go. It is not an illness, and it is not something you are doing wrong.
There are no five stages you are supposed to pass through, and no finish line called closure. Real grief is messier and more personal than that.
The work is not getting over it. It is learning to carry it, so that in time, the love can take up more room than the pain.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM GRIEF
If your grief does not look the way you expected, that does not mean you are grieving wrong. A few things are true for almost everyone:
01
It comes in waves
Not steady stages. Calm stretches, then a wave, sometimes months or years later. That is normal.
02
It lives in the body
Exhaustion, a heavy chest, fog, no appetite or all appetite. Grief is physical, not just emotional.
03
It keeps its own time
There is no deadline. Six months, a year, five years: grief does not check the calendar.
Counselling does not speed grief up or make you let go. It gives you a place to set it down for an hour, with someone who can help you carry it.
MANY KINDS OF LOSS
Not all grief follows a death, and all of it is real.
01
Losing someone you love
A partner, a parent, a child, a friend. The relationship continues in you, and so does the ache of the absence.
02
Grieving before the loss
When someone you love is seriously ill, grief often starts early. Anticipatory grief is real grief, and it is exhausting to carry quietly.
03
Loss without a death
The end of a relationship, your health, a home, a future you had planned. These losses deserve grieving too, even if no one sent flowers.
04
Sudden or traumatic loss
When the loss arrived without warning, or the way it happened was itself traumatic, shock and sorrow get tangled together and can need different care.
HOW WE HELP
Grief counselling is not about fixing you, because you are not broken. It is about having steady company and the right kind of support for your particular loss.
Your counsellor helps you find the fit, rather than leaving you to choose alone.
IN SESSION
There is no agenda and no workbook. Some sessions you might talk about the person or what you lost. Some sessions you might talk about the people around you, or nothing in particular. All of it counts.
You will not be told where you should be by now. You will not be asked to let go, move on, or find silver linings.
Over time, many people find the waves become more carryable: the loss still matters, and life starts to hold more than the loss.
WHEN TO REACH OUT
Grief itself does not mean you need counselling. Many people carry loss with the support of the people around them, and that is enough.
It may be worth reaching out if the grief feels stuck or is getting heavier with time, if it is making daily life hard to manage, or if you are carrying it completely alone. And if the pain ever turns toward thoughts of ending your life, please reach out now: call or text 9-8-8, any time, or call 911 if you are in danger.
YOUR COUNSELLOR
You will work with a Registered Clinical Counsellor who understands both grief and trauma, and the ways they overlap. Our team follows your pace and your way of grieving, rather than a fixed script.
PRACTICAL DETAILS
COMMON QUESTIONS
No. Grief is a natural response to loss, not an illness, and many people carry it with the support of family and friends. Counselling helps when the grief feels stuck, too heavy, or too lonely to carry with what you have around you.
Yes. Grief does not follow a calendar, and there is no point where you are supposed to be done. Waves that return long after a loss, around anniversaries, milestones, or out of nowhere, are a normal part of loving someone.
No. Grief counselling is not about letting go, moving on, or finding closure. Many people find it helps them stay connected to who or what they lost, while the pain becomes more carryable.
It still counts. Divorce, estrangement, health, a home, a future you planned: these are real losses, and they deserve real grieving, even when the people around you do not treat them that way.
There is no set course, because grief has no set course. Some people come for a few sessions around a hard stretch, others longer. You can stop, pause, or return whenever you need, including around anniversaries.
Sessions are private pay, and many extended health plans cover counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor. We can walk you through the details and direct billing on a free call.
Yes. We offer virtual sessions across British Columbia. Grief does not always want a commute, and meeting from your own space can feel gentler.
Tell us a little about what's going on — a sentence is plenty. Robert replies within one business day, usually the same day, to set up your free 15-minute call or simply answer your questions.