Expert Grief and Loss Counselling Services in Canada

Taking Your First Step: Initial Contact & Consultation

Beginning your grief and loss counselling journey starts here. You matter. Your pain is valid. And you don't have to navigate this alone.

At Bee Here Counselling, we understand that reaching out for support during times of grief takes courage. That's why we've designed our initial contact process to be gentle, flexible, and completely focused on your comfort and needs.

What to Expect During Initial Contact

Your journey begins with a complimentary 15-minute consultation. This brief conversation allows you to meet Melissa Davies, our registered clinical counsellor, without any pressure or commitment. Think of it as a gentle introduction.

During this consultation, you'll have the opportunity to:

• Share what brings you to counselling at your own pace
• Ask questions about the counselling process
• Learn about different therapeutic approaches that might help
• Discuss scheduling options that work for your life
• Feel the supportive environment we provide

This consultation can happen in person at our Nanaimo office, online through secure video, or by phone. Whatever feels most comfortable for you right now is the right choice.

Your Comfort Comes First

We know that grief affects everyone differently. Some days are harder than others. That's why we offer multiple ways to connect with us, ensuring that geography, mobility, or energy levels never become barriers to getting the support you need.

Our approach is rooted in compassion and cultural inclusivity. We see you as a whole person, not just your grief. We honour your unique experience, your cultural background, and your individual way of processing loss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Multiple Ways to Connect

Choose the contact method that feels most comfortable for you:

Email: [email protected]Perfect for those who prefer written communication or need time to gather their thoughts.

Online Booking: Visit our websiteSchedule your consultation at any time that works for you, day or night.

Phone Consultation: Available during business hoursSometimes hearing a caring voice is exactly what you need.

What Happens Next

After your consultation, if you feel ready to begin counselling, we'll schedule your first full session. This intake session lasts about 50 minutes and can be conducted in the same format as your consultation.

During your first session, we'll:

• Complete intake forms together at a comfortable pace
• Discuss your specific grief experience and what support you're seeking
• Explore your goals for counselling
• Begin building the therapeutic relationship that will support your healing
• Create a flexible treatment plan that honours your unique needs

Remember, you're in control of this process. We move at your pace. We honour your timeline. And we're here to support you every step of the way.

You're Not Alone

Grief can feel isolating, but you don't have to carry this burden alone. Taking this first step toward support shows incredible strength and self-compassion.

We serve clients throughout British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan through our flexible online and phone options, with in-person services available in Nanaimo. Wherever you are in your grief journey, we're here to walk alongside you.

Your healing matters. Your story matters. And when you're ready, we'll be here to listen.

Step 2: Assessment & Goal Setting

Your intake session is where we truly begin. This is our chance to understand your unique grief journey and create a path forward together.

What to Expect During Your Assessment

We start gently. Your 50-minute intake session focuses on understanding your loss, your current emotional landscape, and what healing means to you. This isn't about judgment or diagnosis. It's about connection.

During our time together, I'll use several gentle assessment approaches to better understand how grief is affecting your daily life. You might complete a brief questionnaire about your mood and anxiety levels, helping us identify areas where you're struggling most. We'll also explore how your cultural background and personal beliefs shape your grieving process, because your heritage and values matter deeply in your healing journey.

Some clients worry about being "evaluated" or "tested." Let me reassure you. These tools simply help us understand your experience more completely. Think of them as conversation starters rather than examinations. They guide our discussions and ensure we don't miss important aspects of your grief that need attention.

Collaborative Goal Setting

Goals in grief counselling look different for everyone. Maybe you want to sleep through the night again. Perhaps you're hoping to feel less overwhelmed by waves of sadness. Or you might want to find ways to honour your loved one while still engaging with life.

We'll identify what matters most to you right now. Then we'll break those hopes into manageable steps. Your goals will evolve as you heal, and that's perfectly normal. Grief isn't linear, and neither is recovery.

What to Bring and How to Prepare

Session Formats and Flexibility

Your intake can happen in person at our Nanaimo location, online, or by phone. Choose what feels most comfortable for you. Some people prefer the intimacy of face-to-face connection. Others find online sessions less overwhelming when they're feeling vulnerable. There's no wrong choice.

We'll also discuss whether 50-minute or 90-minute sessions work better for your needs going forward. Longer sessions can be particularly helpful when processing complex grief or trauma, giving us more time to work through difficult emotions safely.

Building Our Therapeutic Relationship

Trust takes time, especially when you're grieving. I understand that opening up to someone new feels daunting when you're already emotionally raw. We'll move at your pace. Share what feels safe. Hold back what doesn't, until you're ready.

This assessment isn't just about gathering information. It's about beginning to build the foundation of safety and understanding that will support your healing journey. You're not just another client. You're a person with a unique story, and that story deserves to be heard with compassion and respect.

Common Concerns About Assessment

Will I have to talk about everything right away? Absolutely not. We'll only explore what feels manageable for you in each session.

What if I cry or become emotional? Tears are welcome here. Grief needs expression, and this is a safe space for all your emotions.

Will you judge my grieving process? Never. There's no "right" way to grieve, and I'm here to support your unique journey without judgment.

What if I don't know what my goals are yet? That's completely normal. Sometimes the first goal is simply surviving each day, and that's enough to start with.

Remember, this assessment is the beginning of our work together, not a test you need to pass. Come as you are. Bring your grief, your questions, your hopes, and your fears. We'll sort through it all together, one step at a time.

Step 3: Active Treatment and Healing

Your healing journey deepens here. This is where transformation happens through consistent therapeutic work, meaningful homework practices, and collaborative progress tracking. Each session builds upon the last, creating momentum toward your personal goals.

What Your Sessions Look Like

Every session follows a thoughtful rhythm designed around your needs. We begin with connection. How are you feeling today? What's shifted since we last met? This check-in grounds us both in the present moment and helps me understand where you are emotionally.

The heart of our work unfolds in the middle portion of each session. Here, we dive deep into grief processing using approaches tailored specifically for you. Some days we might explore cognitive behavioural techniques to understand how grief thoughts impact your daily life. Other sessions could involve mindfulness practices to help you stay present with difficult emotions without being overwhelmed by them.

Art therapy offers another powerful pathway for expression when words feel inadequate. Through creative work, many clients discover new ways to honour their loss and process complex feelings. Somatic approaches help you reconnect with your body's wisdom, especially when grief feels stuck or overwhelming.

Therapeutic Techniques We Use

Your grief is unique. So is your healing path. I draw from multiple approaches to create the right fit for you:

• Cognitive Behavioural Work: We examine how grief thoughts influence your emotions and behaviours, developing healthier thinking patterns that support your healing
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction: Learn to be present with grief without being consumed by it through meditation, breathing exercises, and body awareness practices
• Dialectical Behavioural Skills: Build emotional regulation tools and distress tolerance techniques specifically helpful for intense grief waves
• Creative Expression: Use art, writing, or movement to process emotions that feel too big for words
• Somatic Approaches: Work with body sensations and energy to release grief that feels stuck in your physical being
• Existential Exploration: Examine questions of meaning, purpose, and identity as they shift through your loss

Between Session Practices

Healing happens between our meetings too. Your homework isn't busy work. It's carefully chosen to support your specific goals and deepen the work we do together.

Grief journaling forms the foundation of most practice plans. You might write letters to your loved one, track emotional patterns, or explore memories that surface. Some clients find gratitude practices helpful for balancing grief with appreciation for what remains meaningful in their lives.

Mindfulness homework could include daily meditation, breathing exercises during difficult moments, or mindful walking in nature. These practices help you develop a different relationship with intense emotions.

Creative assignments might involve making a memory book, creating art that expresses your feelings, or finding music that captures your experience. Movement practices like gentle yoga or dancing can help process emotions held in your body.

• Daily grief journaling with specific prompts
• Mindfulness meditation practice (10-20 minutes)
• Letter writing to your loved one
• Gratitude practice focusing on meaningful connections
• Creative expression through art, music, or movement
• Gentle physical activity to support emotional regulation
• Progressive muscle relaxation for anxiety management
• Thought record keeping to track grief patterns

Tracking Your Progress

Progress in grief work isn't always linear. Some days feel harder than others, and that's completely normal. We track progress through multiple lenses to capture the full picture of your healing journey.

Weekly mood and energy check-ins help us notice patterns and shifts over time. We use simple rating scales to track sleep quality, anxiety levels, and your ability to engage in daily activities. These aren't tests to pass or fail. They're tools to understand what's working and what needs adjustment.

We also pay attention to qualitative changes. Are you able to talk about your loved one with less distress? Do you find moments of joy without guilt? Can you engage in activities that once felt impossible? These shifts matter deeply.

Your feedback guides everything we do. If homework feels overwhelming, we adjust it. If certain techniques don't resonate, we try different approaches. This is your healing journey, and you remain in the driver's seat throughout.

Support Between Sessions

You're not alone between our meetings. While I maintain professional boundaries around contact, you have clear guidelines for reaching out if you need support. We establish these boundaries together during early sessions so you know exactly what to expect.

For crisis situations, you'll have emergency contact information and local resources. For non-urgent questions or insights you want to remember for our next session, we might arrange brief check-ins via your preferred communication method.

Many clients find comfort in knowing they can send a brief message about their homework progress or a breakthrough they've experienced. These touchpoints help maintain connection and momentum between our face-to-face work.

Your Role in This Process

Active treatment requires your participation, but never more than you can handle. You decide how deep to go each session. You choose which homework practices feel manageable. You set the pace for your healing.

Your honesty about what's working and what isn't helps me support you better. If you're struggling with assignments, that's valuable information, not failure. If certain topics feel too intense, we can approach them differently or wait until you feel more ready.

Remember that healing isn't about "getting over" your loss. It's about learning to carry your grief in ways that allow you to live fully again. This process takes time, patience, and compassion for yourself as you navigate this profound life change.

Step 4: Celebrating Progress and Planning Your Path Forward

You've reached a significant milestone. This moment deserves recognition. Your journey through grief and loss counselling has brought you to a place where healing feels more tangible, where hope has found its way back into your daily experience.

Step 4 represents both completion and beginning. We evaluate your progress together. We celebrate the strength you've discovered within yourself. And we create a sustainable plan for the road ahead, ensuring the growth you've achieved continues to flourish long after our regular sessions end.

Recognizing Your Growth

Progress in grief work isn't always linear, and that's perfectly normal. We'll review your journey using several gentle assessment approaches:

• Emotional wellness questionnaires that measure changes in your mood, anxiety levels, and overall mental health since beginning counselling
• Personal reflection exercises where you'll identify specific areas where you feel stronger, more resilient, or more at peace
• Relationship and daily functioning assessments that explore improvements in your connections with others and your ability to engage in meaningful activities
• Scaling conversations where you rate your current emotional state compared to when you first sought support

These tools help us see the full picture of your healing. They're not tests to pass or fail. They're mirrors reflecting the remarkable progress you've made, sometimes in ways you might not have noticed yourself.

Signs You're Ready for This Transition

Readiness for completion doesn't mean your grief has disappeared. Grief often remains a companion, but it transforms into something more manageable, even meaningful. You might notice:

Your Personalized Maintenance Plan

Sustainable healing requires ongoing attention. Together, we'll create your unique maintenance strategy:

Daily Practices: We'll identify which mindfulness techniques, breathing exercises, or somatic practices have been most helpful for you. These become your daily anchors. Simple practices. Powerful results. Consistency matters more than perfection.

Weekly Rituals: Perhaps it's journaling every Sunday morning, taking a meaningful walk, or practicing the grief meditation techniques we've explored. These weekly touchstones help you stay connected to your healing journey.

Monthly Check-ins: We'll establish a system for you to assess your emotional wellness monthly. This might involve revisiting the same questionnaires we use in session, or simply asking yourself key questions about your grief journey and overall well-being.

Seasonal Awareness: Grief often intensifies around anniversaries, holidays, or significant dates. We'll create specific strategies for navigating these predictable challenges with greater ease and self-compassion.

Building Your Support Network

Professional counselling is just one piece of your support puzzle. We'll help you identify and strengthen other sources of support:

• Family members and friends who understand your journey and can offer practical and emotional support
• Community groups, whether grief-specific support groups or other meaningful communities that align with your values and interests
• Spiritual or cultural practices that provide comfort and connection to something larger than yourself
• Professional resources you can access if additional support becomes necessary

Ongoing Support Options

Completion doesn't mean goodbye forever. Bee Here Counselling remains available to you in several ways:

Booster Sessions: Many clients benefit from occasional individual sessions, perhaps every few months or during particularly challenging periods. These sessions help you tune up your coping strategies and address new challenges as they arise.

Group Support: You might find value in joining a grief support group or participating in workshops focused on specific aspects of healing and growth.

Crisis Support: Life sometimes presents unexpected challenges. If you experience a significant loss, trauma, or mental health crisis, we're here to provide immediate support and help you navigate these difficulties.

Annual Wellness Check-ins: Some clients appreciate scheduling annual sessions to review their ongoing growth, adjust their maintenance strategies, and ensure they're continuing to thrive.

Celebrating Your Courage

Take a moment to recognize what you've accomplished. Seeking help for grief takes tremendous courage. Staying committed to the healing process, even when it felt difficult or uncertain, demonstrates remarkable strength. You've learned to carry your loss in a new way. You've discovered resilience you might not have known you possessed.

Your grief journey continues, but now you're equipped with tools, insights, and support systems that will serve you well. You've proven to yourself that healing is possible, that growth can emerge from even the most profound losses.

Looking Forward

This completion is really a commencement. You're graduating from intensive grief counselling, but you're beginning a new chapter of your life where healing and growth continue to unfold. The work you've done here becomes the foundation for everything that comes next.

Remember that seeking support again in the future isn't a sign of failure or regression. It's a sign of wisdom, self-awareness, and commitment to your ongoing well-being. Bee Here Counselling will always be here when you need us, whether that's next month or next year.

Your journey through grief has transformed you. Now it's time to step forward into your life with confidence, carrying both your loss and your healing as integral parts of who you've become.