Grief is sacred and so the work I do is too. The work I do is Soul Work. It’s the sacred work of helping you live with the pain of grief, loss and trauma.
When loss happens, grief shows up as an unwelcome offensive smelly and dirty house guest. It takes up residence without asking for your permission. In my experience, grief never leaves, so the real work is to simply make friends with it and that process isn’t easy. Trust me, I’ve been there.
I’ve been called a grief midwife-guiding you through this wilderness so that you don’t have to do it alone. I’m with you in this liminal world, this weird space of pre-loss/post lost that is so visceral, painful and strange.
So I’m a guide and a coach; a grief companion or grief friend.
My work is deeply informed by my own apprenticeship to grief for the past 12 years, along with my 25 years of psychotherapy practice. I offer an eclectic mix focused on helping you reconcile your current situation (reconcile=to make good again).
In-person sessions in Boulder, Colorado.
Remote Grief Coaching/Companioning Work– I also offer my services through Zoom or phone so we can connect and work together regardless of where you live. These sessions fall under my coaching services as I’m only licensed as a professional counselor in the state of Colorado.
All my sessions include an eclectic mix of my formal training and my personal apprenticeship to grief:
Psychotherapy that is body-centered, this means that I will tune into my own body/nervous system as I also ask you to notice yours. We will trust your body’s innate wisdom, we may slow down and listen to this. Body-centered practice is bottom up, not top down. We may ask the brain to take a back seat for a while. You cannot think your way through grief, you must feel it.
Art Therapy is using the creative arts to gain more insight and understanding about your current situation. This could either be done during a session or sometimes I suggest you do this on your own outside of the work we do together. Actually, most of the “work” happens in between our sessions as you use the tips and tricks we discuss that are pertinent to your situation.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) An excellent modality that uses bilateral stimulation (eye movement, tapping right and life side of body) to reprocess trauma so that it doesn’t hijack your life anymore. And yes this can be done through online sessions.
Use of the Natural World– I try to bring in the elements (earth, air, water, fire, minerals, nature) as much as possible to support you in your path of reconciliation. For me nature has been a beautiful partner in my healing process. This could look like using one of more of the elements to support your healing.
Ritual: In this culture we are thirsty for rituals to mark our initiation into life post trauma or grief. I could help you craft your own personal ritual or I could be there to help you hold a community ritual. This work is deeply informed by my deep dives into the Dagara Grief Rituals I have done with both Sobonfu Somé and most recently with Malidoma Patrice Somé. Ritual can be especially healing when you are dealing with a loss that is not death centered as we need a ceremony to acknowledge the grief. (I found that non-death loss is very confusing in this Western culture).
Grief Coaching Packages: Sign up for my new grief coaching packages for 3 or 6 months. More info coming soon.
Grief Consultations: need help talking to your staff or other organization about how to deal with grief or how to help those who are grieving? Contact me to set up a consultation or hire me to speak directly with your team. I could even help your organization create it’s own specific grief ritual or ceremonial space.