You don’t have to carry this alone

Grief & Bereavement Counselling in Bath and Online

Grief can change the ground beneath you.

Whether you’re mourning the death of someone close, living alongside serious illness, grieving a beloved pet, or facing a life change you didn’t choose, loss can quietly reshape how you experience yourself and the world around you.

I offer grief and bereavement counselling in Bath and online - a steady, compassionate space to explore what has changed and what still matters.

Grief is not something to fix.
It is something to be met.

Grief Is Not Only About Death

When people hear “bereavement counselling,” they often think of recent deaths and funerals. But grief takes many forms, and not all of them are obvious to others.

You might be grieving:

• The death of a parent, partner, sibling, child, friend, or colleague

• The loss of a pet who was part of your everyday life

• Anticipatory grief when someone you love is seriously ill

• A miscarriage or fertility struggles

• The end of a relationship or marriage

• The loss of health, independence, or the future you had imagined

• Redundancy, retirement, or a major shift in your role or identity

• Migration or leaving behind your home and country

• Estrangement from family or friends

• Losses that feel invisible or unacknowledged by others

Some losses are recognised publicly. Others are carried quietly, without ceremony or support.

All forms of grief are valid.

When Grief Feels Overwhelming

Grief rarely follows a clear or predictable path. One day it may feel steady, the next it can feel disorientating or overwhelming.

You might notice:

• Sudden waves of sadness, numbness, or anxiety

• Irritability or anger that catches you off guard

• Exhaustion or difficulty concentrating

• Guilt about what you did, or didn’t do

• A sense of disbelief or unreality

• Feeling isolated, even when others are around

• Moments of relief mixed with shame

• A feeling that you have changed in ways you can’t yet explain

Sometimes grief arrives straight away. Sometimes it surfaces months or even years later, when life has moved on, and others expect you to have “moved on” too.

You may appear to be coping well while struggling privately. You may feel caught between honouring what was lost and trying to keep living the life that remains.

Grief counselling offers a space to speak honestly about these experiences, without pressure to tidy them up or find meaning too quickly.

When Grief Still Feels Unfinished

Sometimes grief doesn’t feel like something that has “passed.” It may still be present months or years later — not always with the same intensity, but with a sense that something remains unfinished.

You might feel you never had the chance to say goodbye, that the relationship was complicated, or that others expected you to recover before you were ready. You may have returned to daily life while still carrying questions, guilt, anger, longing, or regret.

Unresolved grief does not mean you are grieving incorrectly. It often means that something important has not yet had enough space or attention.

This can be especially true when the death was sudden, the relationship was complex, there was estrangement, or your grief was not recognised by those around you.

Therapy can offer a place to return to what still feels tender, without forcing closure. Sometimes the work is not about moving on, but about finding a different relationship with what happened.

Serious Illness, Diagnosis, and Anticipatory Grief

A serious diagnosis can change life overnight.

Whether it is your own illness or someone else’s, the moment of diagnosis can bring shock, fear, anger, or a strange sense of unreality. Chronic or terminal illness can bring ongoing losses — energy, independence, certainty, plans, and aspects of identity.

You might be:

• Struggling to process what this means

• Feeling pressure to “stay positive”

• Managing practical realities while emotions remain unspoken

• Grieving the future you imagined

• Feeling isolated in ways that are hard to explain

Not all grief begins after death. If someone you love is living with a life-limiting illness, you may already be grieving the person as they were, the future you had pictured, or the sense of certainty you once held.

Anticipatory grief can be confusing and isolating. The person is still here, and yet something has already changed. Therapy can offer a place to pause — somewhere you do not have to be the strong one.

Pet Loss

The death of a pet can be devastating.

Animal companions often provide daily comfort, routine, and unconditional presence. Their loss can leave a silence that others may not fully understand. It can also bring difficult decisions, guilt, and disruption to everyday life.

If you are grieving a pet, your loss is valid, and you deserve support. Your bond mattered, and it still does.

Identity, Loss, and Life Transitions

Grief is not only about who or what has gone.
It is also about who you are now.

After a loss, many people find themselves asking:

• Who am I without this relationship or role?

• Where do I belong now?

• How do I carry this forward without being defined by it?

Loss can reshape your sense of identity, your relationships, and your sense of direction. These questions don’t require quick answers. They need time, patience, and a space where they can be held gently.

How I Work

My approach is steady, relational, and paced carefully.

I do not see grief as something to overcome, fix, or hurry through. Instead, I offer a space where your experience can be spoken about honestly, including the parts that may feel contradictory, difficult, or hard to share elsewhere.

In grief counselling, we may explore:

• What has changed since the loss

• How grief is affecting your relationships and sense of self

• Feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, relief, numbness, or regret

• What remains unfinished or unspoken

• How to live alongside grief without needing to erase it

• What still matters, even in the presence of loss

My work is informed by hospice and bereavement experience, end-of-life companionship, and a particular interest in grief, death, illness, and life transitions.

Sessions are available in person in Bath and online across the UK.