Grief Counselling in Ottawa
Grief doesn't move on a schedule. Support for loss that is recent, complicated, or older than anyone expects you to still feel.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationGrief doesn't move on a schedule. Support for loss that is recent, complicated, or older than anyone expects you to still feel.
✓ 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
The messages stopped, the casseroles stopped, and you're still in it. The gap between how you're doing and what people assume can be lonelier than the loss.
Numbness, irritability, trouble concentrating, or nothing much at all. Grief often doesn't look the way people expect, which can make you wonder whether something is wrong with you.
When the relationship held hurt as well as love, grief comes tangled with anger, relief, or guilt. That mix is common and it makes mourning harder, not simpler.
Grief counselling at Auren Wellness is not about reaching acceptance on a timeline or working through fixed stages. Grief is not linear, and the older stage models describe it far more tidily than people actually experience it.
The work usually involves making space for what you're carrying without rushing it, and understanding what's made this particular loss hard in this particular way — the relationship itself, what was unresolved in it, the circumstances of the death or ending, and what has changed in your life since.
For some people grief becomes stuck: persistent, intense yearning that doesn't soften over time, or a shutting down that keeps the loss at a distance. Where that's happening, we work with it directly and at your pace.
Grief also follows losses that are not deaths — the end of a marriage, estrangement, a diagnosis, infertility, the loss of a pet. These are real losses and they are welcome here.
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.
Everyone's experience is different. Explore the focus that fits what you're navigating, or book a free consult and we'll help you find the right starting point.
Book a free consultationQUESTIONS
Grief counselling is therapeutic support after a loss. It makes room for what you are carrying without rushing it, and looks at what has made this particular loss hard in this particular way — the relationship itself, what was unresolved, the circumstances, and what has changed in your life since.
There is no required threshold. People often reach out when the support around them has faded, when grief is affecting sleep, work, or relationships, or when they feel stuck in a way they cannot explain. Coming early is not premature, and coming years later is not too late.
The stage model is widely known but describes grief far more tidily than most people experience it. Grief is rarely linear and does not move through a fixed sequence. It is more common to move back and forth, with waves arriving long after others expect them.
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 before anything is booked.
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.
No. Grief does not run on a schedule, and people often seek support long after a death — sometimes prompted by an anniversary, another loss, or a life change that brings it back. Time passing does not make the loss less worth attending to.
Yes. Grief follows the end of a marriage, estrangement from family, a diagnosis, infertility, and the loss of a pet, among others. These are real losses, and they are often harder because there is less social permission to mourn them openly.
Grief frequently arrives as exhaustion, irritability, numbness, difficulty concentrating, or a strange flatness where feeling should be. Because that does not match what people expect grief to look like, it can leave someone wondering whether something is wrong with them.
The first session is mostly about understanding your loss and how you have been since — who this person was to you, what has changed, and what feels hardest right now. There is no pressure to share more than you are ready to, and no expected way to grieve.
Yes. Sessions are available by secure video anywhere in Ontario, and in person at our Centrepointe office in Ottawa. Some people prefer video during grief because it means not having to drive home afterward.
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.
