Frequently Asked Questions About Grief Coaching

Life coaching is a rapidly growing profession offering clients valuable insight and support in navigating life's transitions. Coaching is about engagement and connection. I guide clients as they progress through self-discovery. Life coaching offers unique guidance for anyone seeking greater self understanding and ease to navigate the world around them. I can help you find new insights often by revealing misleading or perhaps old stories and coping mechanisms that are no longer helpful and are limiting what is possible. The goal of coaching in grief and loss is first to allow you to process your story and then to help you break out of harmful, rigid thought patterns. Allowing flexibility of thought can give enormous relief from guilt and the pain of grief.

Therapists are the front line workers of mental health care. They operate under a medical model of care, including both a diagnosis and treatment plan and are essential when navigating mental illness. In contrast, Coaches operate under a support model and help navigate growth and change.

I am not a therapist. I will not diagnose you or fix you. Grief is not an illness and you are not broken. I can help you get some relief from the pain by supporting you and normalizing what you are feeling. Coaching is not a substitute for medical or mental health care.

Although coaching is not therapy, good coaching is therapeutic.

The best time for coaching is when you are ready. Coaching in early grief is to help you adjust to a new reality and give you a safe, non-judgemental space to speak your truth in grief. It is a time to learn how to navigate the world without your loved one. I can help you understand the emotions that arise with loss.

Navigating grief is a journey. We carry it with us as we move forward in our lives. It is never too late to look at our relationship with who and/or what we have lost. Over time grief changes and new challenges emerge. Grief may become more intense when new life events happen. At every stage of life we reevaluate what could have been and may grieve once more, in a new way. This is a very common reason people seek coaching.

These sessions are conversations led by you. We start by co-creating a safe space for you. My coaching is trauma-informed so I want to hear your story, but only when you are comfortable.

Sharing emotional memories requires a sense of trust and safety. When you do share your story, we can look to see if you use all the available pieces of information or have you been selective in what you include? Are there thoughts that may not be true? Are you feeling guilt or regret? I will help you see where your story is helping you and where it is not.

As a coach, I’ll want to explore how your life now is impacted by your loss. I’ll partner with you to help you gain insights about yourself and guide you to see the possibilities of integrating your loss so that your grief can be more easily carried. I will help and support you in taking steps toward achieving that future. I will ask you powerful questions and challenge the beliefs that may be holding you back. Most importantly, I will support you and be a safe sounding board for your grief

I will also blend coaching with teaching from what I know as a lifelong student of grief and as a grief educator.

Unfortunately, because coaching is based as a support model and not a medical model, few if any insurance plans cover coaching. I can always provide an invoice, however, remember that as a coach I do not make a diagnosis. Please check with your insurance plan. Also, you may be able to be reimbursed using a flexible spending account or a health savings account.