Grief Counselling for the Loss of a Parent
For the loss people expect you to be prepared for, and you weren't.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationFor the loss people expect you to be prepared for, and you weren't.
✓ 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.
Some of what people mention in their first session after this loss.
WHAT PEOPLE BRING
However old you are when your second parent dies, there's suddenly no one left who knew you from the beginning. Colleagues expect you back in a week; it doesn't work like that.
Reaching for the phone to call them about something small, sometimes months later. Those reflexes fade slowly, and each one can reopen the loss for a moment.
A difficult parent leaves a difficult grief. Mourning the parent you actually had, and the one you kept hoping they'd become, at the same time, is heavy and common and worth talking about.
Counselling after a parent's death makes room for the whole of it: the sadness, the relief, the anger, the strange experience of becoming the older generation. Sessions move at the pace of what you're actually feeling, not the pace at which everyone else went back to normal.
Where the relationship was unfinished, the work often turns there: the conversations that never happened, the apology that never came, the version of them you're allowed to remember. There's also the practical weight that follows a parent's death (the estate, the surviving parent, siblings grieving differently), and it's fine for that to take up space in the room too.
If what you're noticing is grief that stays at full intensity month after month, our complicated grief page describes how we work with that. The broader picture of grief support at Auren 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
There's no standard timetable, whatever anyone around you implies. Many people find the early months are a blur and the harder stretch comes later, once the practical tasks end and the quiet starts. If your grief stays at full intensity without softening at all, that's worth bringing to therapy, and it's still not a failure.
Yes. Complicated relationships tend to produce complicated grief: sadness tangled with anger, relief, and guilt about the relief. None of that disqualifies you; if anything, it's exactly the kind of grief counselling is for.
It can. Families rarely grieve in sync, and mismatched grief is a common source of conflict after a parent dies. Individual counselling helps you hold your own grief steady inside that, and where the whole family wants support, our family counselling page covers that option.
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.
