Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Reflections on Mother’s Day

Mother’s day is a holiday where we show appreciation and care for the maternal roles in our lives. However, this holiday can feel very overwhelming for those of us who are grieving the death of a mother figure, a mother grieving their child, or those of us grieving the loss of not being able to become mothers ourselves.

Amanda – “No person is an island”

Amanda talks about the power of community and the importance of reaching out.

Shannon – Power of Presence

Shannon discusses how just showing up, being present is a powerful way of supporting to someone who has lost. Listen more – talk less.

Cheryl – “My story”

Cheryl talks about her daughter’s organ donations.

Maureen – Holiday Traditions

Maureen talks about anticipating a holiday and considering honouring a loved one

Jean – Helping your children through grief

Jean discusses how helping her children through grief also helped her

Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker

Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.

Who are we to Decide? The Many Paths through Grief

A lot of my work with clients involves hearing their stories, but also answering many questions about if their grief is “normal”. Their grief is overwhelming, and our dominant culture’s strong message is – that grief should be kept at its edges, I often find this pervasive intention creeps into griever’s experiences – and my…

Carrie – Photography and grieving

Carrie discusses how photography can be very freeing in that it allows for exploration and move us away from the need to explain and can be more about experience what our own process is all about.

Caileigh – Recommendations as a therapist and a griever

Caileigh discussed two recommendations for parents on how to support their child’s grief. as a therapist and a griever. The first is to recognize that being with is far more important than fixing. There’s two pieces to connection. The first being that one of the most important healing aspects to grief is feeling connected to others.

Janice – “Photographs”

Janice explains how photographs can be a doorway to help move forward.

Jacqueline – Art Therapy & Grief

Jacqueline discusses about art therapy and how it brings a special layer to help move through grief