My Story
I became a Grief Counsellor because I needed one.
When my mum died suddenly in 2013, I was 24 and completely unprepared for how grief would turn my life upside down. I struggled with anxiety and depression, and I felt like my life was unravelling before my eyes. I felt lost and alone, feeling like the support I had didn't quite address the unique experience of losing a parent at such a pivotal life stage.
Through a series of losses that followed, I learned that grief extends far beyond bereavement – it encompasses all the ways we navigate change, loss of identity, and life transitions that leave us feeling untethered.
Over the following decade, I developed tools and understanding through my own healing journey – including therapy, spiritual practices like meditation and breathwork, and especially discovering grief tending. I learned that grief isn't something to overcome, but something to learn to live alongside with grace.
When I lost my Dad in 2023 at the age of 34, becoming an 'adult orphan' was an even deeper initiation into grief. It solidified my understanding that grief would forever be an inevitable part of life, igniting my passion to support others navigating this lonely and isolating journey in the ways I wish I'd received.
My Approach
What makes my approach to grief unique is the integration of grief tending practices alongside therapeutic counselling. Through my own experience of grief I have come to recognise that healing happens not just through talking and making sense of our grief, but through practices that connect us more deeply to it and create space for it to be tended to.
Through grief counselling, we can explore the ways grief is impacting your life, helping you understand your experience and work through the more complex and difficult emotions that grief stirs up.
Grief tending creates space to connect with your grief through sharing and expressing emotions, ritual, embodiment practices, and connection with nature and the more-than-human world – honouring grief as something sacred, rather than a problem to solve or get over.
I also work with the body, because grief doesn't just live in our thoughts – it settles in our chest, our stomach, our shoulders. When you're feeling numb, anxious, or completely overwhelmed, gentle breathwork and somatic practices can help you find your way back to yourself.
We'll work together to understand what you need – whether that's space to process and reflect, practical tools for managing difficult moments, ways to honour what you've lost, or simply someone to listen who gets it and won't rush you through your grief.
My Experience
Before becoming a counsellor, I worked in the corporate world in Human Resources. When my mum died in 2013, it made me question everything - not just my sense of self, but also my sense of purpose. I found myself wondering what really mattered, what I wanted to do with my life, and whether the career path I was on still felt right.
When I was made redundant a year or so later, it felt like the universe was giving me permission to make a change. So I decided to retrain as a counsellor and qualified in 2019.
Since then, I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of clients navigating a wide range of challenges - anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, life transitions, and loss. I also worked part-time for the NHS Talking Therapies, supporting people with mental health challenges to navigate work and employment - something I deeply understood from my own journey.
Whilst I trained as an integrative counsellor and worked with many presenting issues, it was always grief work that was my 'why' from the beginning. I knew this was where I wanted to focus my work, but I also knew I needed more time to work through my own grief first.
As I explored ways to work with my grief, I discovered breathwork as a practice**,** and it became an anchor for me. I began incorporating breathwork into my client sessions and noticed that working with the breath and body was just as important as working with thoughts and emotions - so I trained as a breathwork coach to deepen this aspect of my practice.
After losing my dad in 2023, I sought out additional support and found myself in grief tending circles and communities that transformed how I understood my own grief. This experience led me to train in The Art of Grief Tending with Nici Harrison from The Grief Space.
Now, my work focuses entirely on supporting people through grief and loss - particularly young adults who've lost a parent. It's where my lived experience, professional training, and passion all come together.
Qualifications & Training
Counselling Qualifications:
❂ Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
❂ BACP Registered Member (MBACP)
❂ Online and telephone counselling training
Specialised Grief & Somatic Training:
❂ The Art of Grief Tending with Nici Harrison (The Grief Space)
❂ Level 3 Breathwork Coaching
❂ Ongoing specialised grief training (such as grief and neurodiversity, supporting traumatic and sudden loss)
"The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them."
- Francis Weller
So that you know you are in safe hands, I thought it would be helpful to know...
❂ I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), my work is guided by their ethical principles, ensuring my clients safety and best interests are always at the heart of what I do.
❂ I have undertaken training specifically in online and telephone counselling, allowing me to fully support my clients when working online, and to provide therapy in a safe and effective way.
❂ I take part in regular supervision that helps guide and enhance my work with clients.
❂ I am passionate about keeping my skills and knowledge up to date, and I complete regular training in areas of interest and importance. You will also always find me with my head in a book or listening to a podcast of some kind.
❂ Finally, when holding space for you, it's important that I take care of myself too. So I am committed to receiving my own personal therapy and working on my own self-development, including my own spiritual practices and tending to my own grief.
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