Compassionate grief and loss support that recognises there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
When you’re grieving, you don’t need to arrive knowing which type of therapy you need.
You don’t need to decide whether hypnotherapy, coaching, NLP or another approach would be best for you.
That’s my role.
My starting point is always you – what has happened, how life feels now, what you’re finding difficult and what you would like support with.
From there, we can find an approach that feels appropriate for you.
More Than One Way to Support Grief
Grief can affect us in many different ways.
For one person, the greatest difficulty may be overwhelming thoughts or anxiety. For another, it may be sleep, confidence or adjusting to a very different life.
You might understand what has happened intellectually but feel that emotionally you’re struggling to adapt.
Or perhaps you don’t know what you need. You simply know that life doesn’t feel like it did before.
That’s why I don’t believe in fitting everyone into the same therapeutic approach.
My professional training allows me to draw upon Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, NLP, BLAST, Edu-Therapy and coaching techniques, adapting our work according to your individual circumstances and needs.
Sometimes our work may be conversational and educational.
Sometimes it may be practical and solution focused.
Sometimes relaxation and hypnotherapy may be helpful.
And sometimes we may use a combination.
The approach serves you – you don’t have to fit the approach.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy combines therapeutic conversation with hypnosis and relaxation.
In our work together, the emphasis isn’t on repeatedly revisiting everything that has happened. We acknowledge your loss and the impact it has had while also gently exploring your strengths, resources and what could help life feel more manageable.
Hypnosis itself is a state of focused attention and relaxation.
You remain aware and in control throughout. You cannot be made to say or do something you don’t want to do, and you can bring yourself out of hypnosis whenever you wish.
For someone navigating grief and loss, Solution Focused Hypnotherapy may be useful when you’re experiencing things such as an overwhelmed or busy mind, difficulties relaxing, disrupted sleep, anxious thoughts or a loss of confidence.
It can also provide an opportunity simply to slow down and experience a period of calm when life has felt emotionally exhausting.
NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming
NLP offers a collection of techniques that explore the relationship between our thoughts, language, patterns of behaviour and the way we experience situations.
After a significant loss, we can sometimes find ourselves caught in patterns of thinking that leave us feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
We may also notice that the way we think and talk about ourselves has changed.
NLP techniques can be used within our sessions to help you become more aware of some of these patterns and explore different ways of responding.
This isn’t about pretending everything is positive or trying to think your way out of grief.
Your feelings and your loss are acknowledged.
Instead, it can be about gently noticing what is happening within you and discovering where you may have more choice than it currently feels you have.
BLAST
BLAST – Bi-Lateral Analysis and Stimulation Treatment – is an approach that uses bilateral stimulation while working with thoughts, feelings or experiences that may be causing distress.
Sometimes grief can include particular memories, images, thoughts or circumstances surrounding a loss that feel especially difficult.
Where appropriate, BLAST may be one of the approaches I draw upon to help reduce the emotional intensity associated with these experiences.
This isn’t about removing the memory or diminishing its importance.
The aim is to help the experience feel less overwhelming, so that remembering doesn’t necessarily carry the same level of distress.
We would always discuss whether this approach feels appropriate for you before using it.
Edu-Therapy
Edu-Therapy brings together education and therapeutic support to help people better understand and navigate grief.
One of the things I value about this approach is that understanding what we’re experiencing can sometimes be reassuring in itself.
When grief has left you wondering “What’s happening to me?”, learning more about grief and our responses to loss can help make sense of thoughts, emotions and behaviours that may otherwise feel confusing.
Edu-Therapy also offers opportunities to explore your relationship with your loss, recognise what may be keeping you emotionally stuck and develop ways of moving forward while continuing to honour what or who has been important to you.
For some people, this more structured approach to grief support can be particularly helpful.
Coaching Techniques
There can come a point in grief when the question gradually begins to shift.
From:
“How am I going to cope with what has happened?”
towards:
“What does my life look like now?”
This is where elements of coaching can be valuable.
We might explore changes in your identity, confidence, relationships, work, purpose or the things that matter to you.
This isn’t about rushing towards goals or encouraging you to put grief behind you.
It’s about recognising that you still have a life ahead of you and, when you’re ready, beginning to consider what you would like that life to contain.
Sometimes the smallest steps can be meaningful.
We May Combine Different Approaches
These aren’t separate boxes that you have to choose between.
Your support might include education about grief, therapeutic conversation, solution-focused questions, relaxation or hypnosis, practical strategies and techniques drawn from NLP or BLAST.
What we use may also change over time.
Something that feels helpful at the beginning of our work may be different from what you need several weeks later.
We’ll talk about what we’re doing and why, and you are always welcome to ask questions or tell me if something doesn’t feel right for you.
Our work is collaborative.
Looking Forward Without Leaving the Past Behind
Although much of my approach is forward-looking, that doesn’t mean ignoring your past.
Your experiences matter.
Your relationship with the person, situation or part of life you have lost matters.
Your memories matter.
We acknowledge all of that.
But alongside what has happened, we can also begin to become curious about what you need now.
What would help you feel a little calmer?
What would make tomorrow slightly easier?
What strengths have helped you through difficult experiences before?
What might you like to reconnect with?
And, eventually:
What would living well alongside your loss look like for you?
A Gentle, Personalised Way Forward
There is no single technique that “fixes” grief.
And that’s not what I’m trying to do.
My role is to bring together my professional training, understanding of grief and loss, nursing background and lived experience to provide support that is compassionate, practical and personalised.
You don’t need to understand all the different approaches before we begin.
You simply need to come as you are.
Together, we’ll explore what you need and find a way of working that feels right for you.
Not Sure Where to Start?
That’s exactly what your free initial consultation is for.
We can talk about what’s happening for you, what you would like help with and which approaches might be appropriate.
There’s no pressure to decide anything before we meet.
All you’re signing up for is a conversation.