Josie Wood
Grief Counsellor and Life Coach
With warmth, kindness and over 30 years experience...
I'll be by your side as you navigate grief and loss.
Based in Ilkley in Yorkshire, and helping people all over the world...
with a heart centred approach that helps you feel safe enough
to move through the grief and loss you are facing.
Welcome, to Grieving and Supported.
I'm Josie and I'm glad that you have found your way here. Although, I also know that means you are going through a difficult and painful time...and I am so sorry about that. I offer you my support, care and compassionate understanding.
With over thirty years of experience as a counsellor and life coach - I've helped many people through times of loss, bereavement, grief and other impactful life changing times.
Please get in touch with me - to talk about how I can help you too. I offer a free 30 minute chat which you can book here...
A safe, supportive, calming space...
Here you can take a softening breath and release some of the tension you have been carrying. A place where you can safely express the full range of your feelings and emotions. You can explore what is happening underneath the layers of pain that often accompany grief.
You can tell your story and be truly heard.
With gentle encouragement and deep listening, I'll be alongside you as we move forward at your pace - honouring your unique experience.
And together we'll explore ways of supporting you. We will draw on resources, helpful strategies and tools that will help you on this path...of rebuilding your life in ways that honour the past, while embracing the present and future.
Some ways I can help you if you are struggling with grief and loss...
Emotional Support to Fully Grieve
The safe space that I hold for you means you are supported to express your feelings, thoughts, and emotions, enabling you to feel understood and less isolated.
Healthy Coping Strategies
There are effective coping mechanisms that will help you manage the intense emotions that arise during grief. These can reduce the risk of prolonged emotional distress that can sometimes lead to unhealthy patterns. Together we will discover the tools and strategies that work best for you.
Understanding the Grief Process
The reactions that we have when we are grieving can be so painful, that we often feel fear, confusion and overwhelm, and feel like we are falling apart. I will help you understand what is going on, so you recognise that your reactions are normal and feel validated in your experience.
Reduction of Symptoms
If grief is suppressed or avoided it can sometimes lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues that become a further burden. I will support you through a gentle process where you can face your grief which can also heal and resolve other symptoms.
Getting the Support You Need from Those Around You
Sometimes, when we are grieving we put on a brave face, so others think we are coping when we are not. I'll help you find ways to talk to your family, friends and people at work, to express your needs and receive support from them.
Development of Resilience
Grief is not something we get over. Rather we grow and expand to accommodate the loss as a part of our lives. I will help you build resilience and inner strength so you can integrate the losses you face, whether from the past and the present. This will also mean you are in a better position to navigate, any future losses or stressful life events more effectively.
Conflict Resolution and Improved Relationships
Grief can sometimes strain relationships. If this is the case for you I will help you address and resolve any conflicts that may arise as you are grieving and develop healthy patterns of relating.
Support With Life Changes
When we are bereaved or facing other huge losses, our lives are thrown into upheaval. I will support you to adjust to those life changes and new realities, facilitating a smoother transition.
Support for Complicated or Prolonged Grief
Complicated or prolonged grief, can occur when the normal, natural process of grieving becomes derailed or stuck. This benefits from specialised approach through which we address underlying issues to bring relief and healing.
Understanding Who You Are Now Following the Loss​
When we face a life changing loss of any kind, we often find that we are changed by that. It can lead to us feeling lost and dislocated from who we thought we were. I'll help you both reconnect with the what you've always felt is the true you, and also discover the new aspects of yourself that you are becoming.
How You Might Feel Working With Me
If you are feeling lost or adrift - I offer a safe harbour.
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If sadness pours through you like rain, I'll sit in that with you and let it flow.
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If you are feeling unsteady - you can lean into me until you build your own inner steadiness.
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If you are feeling volcanic emotions such as anger and rage - I'll help you direct and channel that in ways which don't burn you or those around you.
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If you feel frightened - I'll face the fear with you, until it dissolves.
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If you feel panic - we'll find the still point of calm that settles and eases it.
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If you are feeling overwhelm or confusion - we'll walk through that together until it clears.
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Whatever you are feeling, I'll be right alongside you, until you feel the relief, hope and peace that enables you to enjoy life again.​​​​​
“We do not 'get over' a death. We learn to carry the grief and integrate the loss in our lives. In our hearts, we carry those who have died. We grieve and we love. We remember.”