Anticipatory Grief Counselling
For grief that starts before the loss: dementia, terminal illness, and the long goodbye.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationFor grief that starts before the loss: dementia, terminal illness, and the long goodbye.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationEvery clinician is registered with a regulatory college — the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW), or the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO).
We want therapy to be financially accessible for everyone. Reduced rates are available case-by-case based on need and availability.
We submit directly to most major insurers, so you don't pay out of pocket upfront.
Our office is in Ottawa. All client records are stored in Canada and handled under PIPEDA and PHIPA.
Ways this shows up that people rarely get to say elsewhere.
WHAT PEOPLE BRING
They're across the table and you miss them. With dementia especially, the person can be present and profoundly absent at once, and visiting can feel like grieving on a schedule.
Wishing it were over, then hating yourself for the wish. Caregivers describe this all the time. It's a sign of exhaustion, not of failed love.
Between appointments, medications, and family updates, your own grief gets scheduled last. Feelings put off for months don't disappear; they wait. It's worth making room for them sooner rather than later.
Naming this as grief is often the first relief: what you're feeling has a shape, and you're not cold or disloyal for feeling it early. From there, counselling gives the part of you that's grieving somewhere to exist that isn't the hospital hallway or the car outside the care home.
The work tends to cover practical emotional ground: how to be present for the time that's left without being consumed by the ending, what to do with feelings that seem unsayable, how to make care decisions you can live with afterwards, and how to let others share the load. When the loss itself comes, you won't be starting from zero with a stranger; some people continue with the same therapist into the grief that follows.
Where the person you're losing is a parent or partner, our pages on losing a parent and losing a spouse pick up that thread. The wider picture is on our grief counselling page.
Email, phone, or fill out our booking form. There's no script and no pressure. You can share as much or as little as you want.
A real person, not a bot, will reply as soon as we can with a few options for a free 15-minute consultation.
We listen. You ask questions. No paperwork, no obligation. If we're not the right match, we'll point you toward someone who might be.
Direct billing where possible. Evening and weekend availability. Virtual or in-person in Ottawa.
Sessions are 50 minutes in length. Rates vary by therapist and are confirmed during your free consultation. We accept e-transfer and credit cards, and direct-bill most insurers.
Sliding-scale spots are available based on need. Ask during your free consultation.
Same 50-minute format, structured for two participants and shared concerns.
Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Social Worker services are covered by most extended health plans in Canada. We recommend confirming your specific coverage before your first paid session. Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Green Shield, and most major insurers include coverage.
We direct-bill where your insurer allows it. Otherwise, you pay at the time of session and submit the receipt for reimbursement.
Every session generates a receipt listing the provider's license number, suitable for insurance reimbursement.
In-person sessions are held at our Ottawa office. Virtual sessions use a secure, PIPEDA-compliant video platform. You can switch between the two.
We ask for 24 hours notice on cancellations. Late cancellations and no-shows are charged the full session fee.
After the free 15-minute consultation, your first paid session is intake-focused. Bring questions, anything you have already tried, and any goals you have in mind.
QUESTIONS
No. Grief responds to loss, and losses are already happening: the conversations you can't have anymore, the future that changed shape. Feeling it now is human, and it doesn't take anything away from the person you're caring for.
Sessions can flex around caregiving schedules, and secure video means you can meet from home or wherever you are. If weekly is too much, your therapist can space sessions out to fit your actual life.
Not exactly, and that's not the goal. Grieving in advance doesn't use up the grief, but people who've had support along the way often face the loss less alone and less blindsided. The relationship with your therapist can continue into what comes after.
No. You can book directly with a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker without a doctor's referral. Some insurance plans ask for one before reimbursing, so it is worth checking your policy.
Psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker is not covered by OHIP. Many extended health and workplace benefit plans cover it, though plans differ on which credentials they reimburse. Check whether yours covers RP, RSW, or both.
Yes. Our therapists offer secure video sessions to clients anywhere in Ontario, and many people mix virtual and in-person visits depending on the week. Everything discussed stays confidential either way.
Therapy is a longer-term relationship. If you're in acute distress, please reach the services below first. They are free, confidential, and available right now.
