Why This Work Matters to Me

My path to becoming a counsellor has also been shaped by my own healing journey.

I have experienced profound grief following the loss of my father to suicide, as well as other seasons of unexpected change, loss, and transition. These experiences have deeply influenced the way I understand grief and the importance of having a safe place to process what we’re carrying.

In my own experience, grief comes in waves. The first year often felt like moving through a fog. Over time, I came to understand that there is no right or wrong way to grieve, and no timeline for when we should be “over it”. There are, however, ways we can learn to process our grief, make space for it, and begin to move alongside it.

I also believe grief extends far beyond death. We can grieve the end of a relationship, a move, our children growing older, a version of ourselves we once knew, the childhood we wish we’d had, or the relationship with a parent we needed but may never have experienced.

Grief can also show up in parenthood. When a child is struggling, becomes sick, or life changes unexpectedly, there can be grief alongside the love, worry, hope, uncertainty. Sometimes we are grieving what we thought life would look like while simultaneously trying to support our child through what they are experiencing.

Loss takes many forms, and sometimes we don’t even recognize what we’re feeling as grief.

These experiences are part of what drew me toward this work and continue to shape the compassion and understanding I bring into the counselling space.