Honouring grief and loss

T ~ Counselling and therapeutic coaching (22 sessions)

T came to me due to relationship issues and unresolved loss compounded by loss (three major bereavements and marriage ending).

I suggested we meet for an initial 90 minute session so I could assess the best way to work with him and he could see if he wanted to work with me.

I explained that I usually start seeing clients for 6 weekly sessions and that, for most people, it takes longer so after 6 sessions, we might move to a more open ended contract.

We did this and had 22 sessions in total. Early on, T experienced another major upheaval and was able to talk about it in our sessions. T seemed to lighten and brighten as he spoke about things he’d not voiced before.

After about 10 sessions, his focus had shifted from the painful (both distant and recent) past to increasing enthusiasm about his future. We spoke about changing from counselling to integrative coach-therapy sessions to better support these next steps.

T is now looking forward to enrolling in a college course as a first step to working in an area he’s always had a passion for. He is also spending more time travelling and taking time for the things he enjoys.

“If you were to do a time frame split of me now [April] standing next to where I was in November, you’d see the difference physically,” says T.

“It’s amazing how that stress and negativity, if there’s no outlet, poisons you. If I hadn’t spoken to you, I don’t know where I would be. I always felt better when I left after a session. I was quite a broken person back then. I feel 1000 times more upbeat than I was in November and look forward to forging ahead with my interests.”

Would you like my support navigating grief and loss?