Grief looks different for everyone

There is no right way to grieve.

Some people cry easily. Others feel numb. Some want to talk constantly, while others struggle to find words. You may move between sadness, anger, relief, anxiety, guilt, confusion or moments of unexpected joy.

Many people worry they are grieving 'wrong' because they don't feel what they think they should.

In reality, grief is as individual as the relationship or life that has been lost.

There is no timetable and no correct sequence of emotions

When life changes unexpectedly

Even positive changes can bring loss.

Moving home, changing career, becoming a parent, children growing up, divorce, illness or retirement can all leave us questioning who we are and where we belong.

Life transitions often ask us to let go of an old identity before we have fully discovered the new one.

This uncertainty can feel deeply unsettling. Grief can also begin before a loss has happened, for example when someone you love is living with a serious illness or dementia.

Sometimes what brings people to therapy is not the event itself, but the feeling that they no longer recognise themselves afterwards.

Some people feel relief alongside sadness, particularly after a long illness or a difficult relationship. These emotions can exist together and neither makes the other any less valid.

Grieving more than one loss

Sometimes the loss we are grieving touches earlier losses that were never fully processed.

A bereavement today may awaken grief from many years ago.

Therapy can offer space for all of these experiences, not just the most recent one.

My approach

I work in an integrative and relational way, recognising that grief is not a problem to be solved.

There is no expectation that you should ‘move on’ or reach a particular stage by a particular time.

Instead, therapy offers a space where whatever you are experiencing is welcome. Together we can make sense of your feelings, explore what has been lost and gently understand how your life is changing around that loss.

Sometimes grief also touches earlier experiences of loss, relationships or unresolved pain. Where it feels helpful, we may explore these too, always at a pace that feels right for you.

Above all, I believe you should not have to carry grief alone.

My understanding of grief, loss and life transitions

I don't believe grief is something we simply get over.

For me, grief is the natural expression of love, attachment and meaning. The greater the significance of what has been lost, the deeper the grief may be.

Rather than trying to make grief disappear, I believe healing comes from gradually finding a way to carry it that no longer feels quite so overwhelming.

The same is often true of life's transitions.

Whenever life changes, we are not only adjusting to new circumstances. We are also letting go of an old version of ourselves while discovering who we are becoming.

For me, therapy is not about returning you to the person you were before the loss. It is about helping you find your way forward while honouring everything that has mattered to you.

Carrying grief differently

There is no moment when grief suddenly ends.

Instead, many people notice that, little by little, they begin to breathe more easily. Memories become less painful to hold. They find themselves able to enjoy moments of life again without feeling that they are betraying what has been lost.

The loss does not disappear.

But it gradually takes its place within the wider story of your life.

If you are grieving a person, a relationship, your health, your identity or a life that has changed in ways you never expected, therapy can offer a compassionate space where you do not have to face it on your own.

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