Grief Counselling After a Sudden or Unexpected Death
For loss with no warning: an accident, a heart attack, an overdose, a death that arrived by phone call.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationFor loss with no warning: an accident, a heart attack, an overdose, a death that arrived by phone call.
✓ 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 describe in the weeks after.
WHAT PEOPLE BRING
A part of you keeps expecting the phone to ring and the news to be reversed. Disbelief can last well past the funeral, and it's not denial in any unhealthy sense.
The call, the hospital corridor, the last text. Sudden deaths tend to leave a few very sharp images that return uninvited, often at night.
If only I had called. If only I had driven. People assign themselves responsibility for things nobody could have predicted. This is one of the most common things sessions return to.
Counselling after a sudden death moves at the pace you can manage. Early sessions are often about steadiness: sleep, eating, getting through the day, and having somewhere to say the things that are too much for the people around you.
As things settle, sessions can turn to the events themselves. Some people need to go through what happened carefully and more than once; others need to stop going through it. Both are ordinary. Your therapist will be watching for memories that are intrusive in a way that suggests trauma as well as grief, and will adjust the work rather than pushing you toward the details before you're ready.
If the death was by suicide, please say so at the consultation so we can match you with the right person. If months have passed and the grief hasn't shifted at all, our complicated grief page describes that pattern, and our trauma therapy page covers the wider approach where the death itself was traumatic. The general 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. Some people come within days because they need somewhere to put it; others wait until the paperwork and the visitors have gone. Starting early does not mean you will be pushed to talk about details you are not ready for.
It can be both. Intrusive images and a sense of being on alert are common after a sudden death, and they often ease as the weeks pass. If they do not, or if they are stopping you from functioning, your therapist can work with that directly. You do not have to decide which it is before you book.
Yes. Counselling does not interfere with a legal process, and it is a normal place to deal with the strain of one. One thing to know before you decide what to share: where a death is the subject of a court case or investigation, therapy records can be requested by a court, and your therapist will explain at your first appointment what that means for your notes. Your therapist will not give legal advice, and what you say in sessions is otherwise confidential within the limits explained at that first appointment.
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.
