Grief & Loss Therapy
Grief and loss can change everything. Whether the loss is recent or many years old, it can live quietly in the body and heart, shaping how you move through the world, your relationships, and your sense of safety. At Glow Mental Health, grief therapy is a space where your experience is honored, not rushed, minimized, or judged.
This work is deeply rooted in my professional background. Before becoming a psychotherapist, I spent years working as a cancer nurse in palliative care and hospice settings, supporting individuals and families through profound transitions and end-of-life care. That experience continues to shape how I hold grief today: with gentleness, presence, and deep respect for how personal and layered it can be.
Grief is not only about death. It can also include:
The loss of a loved one, relationship, or pregnancy
Living with unresolved feelings after someone has passed
Loss of health, identity, or a future you once imagined
Estranged relationships or complicated goodbyes
Words left unsaid or emotions that never had space to be expressed
Sometimes grief is overwhelming and visible. Other times it is quiet and hidden, showing up as anxiety, numbness, guilt, anger, or a sense of disconnection. Therapy offers a space to gently explore what has been carried alone.
I use an integrative, client-centered approach to grief therapy, drawing from modalities such as EMDR, CBT, ACT, and compassion-focused and trauma-informed practices. EMDR may be incorporated when helpful, particularly for memories or experiences that feel emotionally stuck, but therapy is always guided by your needs, comfort, and pace.
Grief therapy can support you in:
Processing unresolved emotions or complicated relationships
Expressing what feels too heavy to hold on your own
Making space for multiple emotions to coexist
Reconnecting with meaning, identity, and a sense of self
Finding a way to honor your loss while continuing forward
There is no timeline for grief and no “correct” way to move through it. Your experience is valid exactly as it is.
At Glow Mental Health, grief therapy is about creating a steady, compassionate space where your story is witnessed, your emotions are welcomed, and healing unfolds in a way that feels safe and authentic to you.
EMDR & Trauma Therapy
We offer EMDR and trauma therapy for clients in-person in Kitchener-Waterloo and virtually across Ontario. This work is designed to support individuals who have experienced overwhelming, distressing, or life-altering events, as well as those living with the long-term effects of chronic stress, medical trauma, grief, or nervous system dysregulation.
Trauma is not only defined by what happened, but by how the body and mind experienced it. Many people carry trauma without realizing it, noticing symptoms such as anxiety, emotional reactivity, numbness, hypervigilance, difficulty trusting, or feeling stuck in the past. Trauma therapy helps create safety in the present so that these experiences can be gently processed and integrated.
At Glow Mental Health, trauma therapy is paced, collaborative, and deeply respectful. Your nervous system, emotional readiness, and sense of control are always prioritized. You are never rushed or pushed into processing before safety and stability are established.
Types of Trauma We Support
Trauma can take many forms. This work may be helpful if you have experienced:
Birth trauma or pregnancy-related distress
Medical trauma or difficult hospital experiences
Chronic illness or chronic pain
Grief and complicated loss
Childhood emotional or relational trauma
Relationship or attachment trauma
Occupational trauma in high-stress professions
Accidents, sudden events, or life-threatening experiences
Ongoing stress that has overwhelmed your system
This includes support for healthcare workers, first responders, emergency personnel, caregivers, and anyone whose nervous system has been shaped by repeated exposure to stress or trauma.
How Trauma Therapy Helps
Trauma therapy supports you in:
Releasing emotional and physical tension held in the body
Reducing the intensity of distressing memories
Calming the nervous system
Rebuilding a sense of safety and control
Strengthening emotional regulation
Developing self-trust and resilience
Feeling more present and connected in daily life
EMDR as Part of an Integrative Approach
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one evidence-based method that can be used within trauma therapy. It helps the brain reprocess experiences that feel “stuck” so they no longer carry the same emotional charge. EMDR is especially helpful when memories, images, or body sensations feel intrusive or difficult to move past.
However, EMDR is never used in isolation. Trauma therapy at Glow Mental Health is integrative and may include:
EMDR
Nervous system regulation and stabilization work
Attachment-based therapy
Emotion-focused therapy
Compassion-focused practices
Mindfulness-based approaches
All trauma work is paced carefully and guided by your comfort, safety, and readiness.
EMDR Session Formats
EMDR can be offered in several flexible formats:
Traditional EMDR Therapy
A planned series of 50-minute sessions, typically offered weekly or bi-weekly.EMDR Intensives (90 or 120 minutes)
Longer sessions that allow for deeper focus and continuity of processing.Structured EMDR Intensive Series
A short-term series of longer sessions delivered over a condensed time period.
The format is always collaboratively chosen based on your goals, capacity, and needs.
Trauma therapy is not about reliving the past. It is about creating safety in the present and allowing your system to settle, integrate, and heal.
You do not have to carry these experiences alone.
At Glow Mental Health, EMDR and trauma therapy offer a compassionate, steady space to process what you have been through and to move forward with greater clarity, stability, and self-trust.