Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Maureen – “Trust yourself”

Maureen talks about finding your own way in your healing process.

Janice – “Being triggered”

Janice discusses triggering, overreacting, under-reacting, and taking responsibility for the size of our feelings.

Michele – Expressive arts and healing grief

Michele defines expressive arts and how they can help healing in grief

Claudia – You do not have to be an artist to do art therapy

Claudia explains why you do not have to be an artist to benefit

Janice – “Not feeling grief when someone dies”

Janice talks about why some people don’t feel grief and what it may mean.

Sara – Music and grief

Sara discusses how music can connect and help by acknowledging grief and bringing comfort

Craig – Supporting Someone in Grief

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Craig discusses his personal experience with grief and how he felt when people didn’t reach out to him during a difficult time. He offers advice on how to best support someone who is grieving, emphasizing the importance of simply showing up and letting them know that you care.

Tending to My Garden of Grief

So long as I remember the lives of those I have lost, honour their presence and impact on me and celebrate their spirit, they will continue to live with me and the pain will feel bearable. It will no longer stop me in my tracks. Instead, it will encourage me and propel me forward through the transmutation of that grief into something different, something more nuanced and fluid. I’d like to share a practice for processing grief which I have found to be especially helpful.

Craig – My Cumulative Grief

Craig shares his story of experiencing a series of significant losses over the course of two years. He talks about the shock, grief, and uncertainty he felt during this time, and how he coped with the accumulation of loss.Craig’s story is a reminder that grief is a normal and natural response to loss, but it can be overwhelming when it comes in waves. If you are experiencing grief, it is important to reach out for support from friends, family, or a therapist. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and everyone experiences it differently. The important thing is to be patient with yourself and to allow yourself to feel your emotions.

Sara – Music at the end of life

Sara talks about the values of music at the end of life

Cara – My story with intellectual disabilities and grief

Cara talks about how she came to see how people with intellectual disabilities need to be supported in grief

Shannon – Hope for Healing

Shannon shares about losing her husband to suicide, her parents and her father-in-law. She felt broken and to be able to take care of her kids and her self seemed overwhelming. It took someone telling her that you can heal from trauma to give her hope for healing.