Complicated Grief Therapy in Ottawa
When grief stays as raw as the first month and life has not started moving again.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationWhen grief stays as raw as the first month and life has not started moving again.
✓ 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.
Therapy is a space to slow down and look at what's underneath. These are some of the patterns people bring into the room.
WHAT PEOPLE BRING
Time has passed and the intensity may not have changed. For some people the anniversaries aren't the hard part — most days are roughly as hard as the last.
Work, friendships, and plans have quietly contracted. Either everything is a reminder to be avoided, or nothing else feels worth the effort.
The last conversation, the thing not said, the decision made in a hospital corridor. Grief gets held in place by something that feels unresolvable.
Grief that stays this intense is recognized clinically. It isn't a personal failure to mourn correctly, and it isn't something willpower alone tends to shift.
Therapy for grief of this kind generally works along two lines at once: turning toward the loss in tolerable, planned steps rather than avoiding it or being flooded by it, and gradually re-engaging with the parts of life that have shut down. Both matter. Approaching the pain without rebuilding anything tends to deepen the hole; rebuilding without approaching the pain tends not to hold.
We also look at what may be keeping it fixed — guilt about the circumstances, an unfinished conversation, a death that was sudden or traumatic, or a relationship that was unresolved. Where the death was traumatic, the work may overlap with trauma therapy.
This is careful, paced work, and the intention is to build enough steadiness before turning toward the hardest material.
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
Complicated grief describes grief that stays intense over a long period and does not soften the way it usually does. Life narrows around the loss, and the missing does not ease. It is recognised clinically, and there are therapeutic approaches developed specifically for it.
Most grief softens unevenly — it stays enormous, then becomes something you carry, then something that visits. With complicated grief that shift does not happen. A year on, or several, the loss can feel as vivid as the first weeks.
There is no correct length, and being told it is time to move on is rarely useful. What matters more than elapsed time is whether the intensity has changed at all and whether life has narrowed around the loss. Those are the patterns worth bringing to a therapist.
Common patterns include a sense of being unable to take in that the death happened, steering around anything connected to the person, or finding you cannot be anywhere else. Work, friendships, and plans may have quietly contracted. Guilt about the circumstances often keeps circling.
They can look similar and can occur together, but they are not the same. Grief tends to centre on the person who died and comes in waves tied to reminders, while depression is usually more pervasive. A therapist can help make sense of what you are experiencing.
Therapy generally works along two lines at once: turning toward the loss in tolerable, planned steps rather than avoiding it or being flooded by it, and gradually re-engaging with parts of life that have shut down. The pace is set with you rather than imposed.
It can surface later, sometimes prompted by an anniversary, another loss, or a change that brings the death back into focus. People also seek help years afterward simply because they have run out of ways to carry it alone.
Sessions start at $175, depending on the therapist. Sliding-scale spots are available with select therapists, and we direct bill where your insurer allows. Fees are confirmed at your free 15-minute consult.
Psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker is not covered by OHIP. Many extended health and workplace plans cover it, though they differ on which credentials they reimburse. Check whether your plan covers RP, RSW, or both.
Where a death was sudden, violent, or witnessed, grief and trauma can become tangled, and the work may overlap with trauma therapy. This is approached carefully and at your pace, with the intention of building enough steadiness before turning toward the hardest material.
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.
