We are social beings, hard wired to be in relation with others.  So the death of a partner, someone who has tracked alongside you for a time in life, can leave a depth of ‘aloneness’ like no other.   In the initial months following a death, when friends and family...

Often, I am asked ‘how best can I support my friend who has experienced a death?'. It is a great question and yet there is no simple answer. When grieving, our needs can change frequently; some days we might feel the need for comfort from the company of friends and...

The act of breathing tells us we are alive. Breath fuels our organs for life, our muscles for movement and our brain for practically everything! And yet, for many of us, the noise and pace of modern living, has us breathing irregularly, inefficiently and...

Christmas can take on a whole new meaning after someone we know and perhaps love, dies. The anticipation of the Day can be experienced as dread and fear. The thought of moving through the day and all the activity leading up to the Day, without that special person...

“My friend just died.  I don’t know what to do”. A lot of people responded.  Then there’s one older gentleman’s incredible comment that stood out from the rest that might just change the way we approach life and death: “Alright here goes.  I’m old.  What that means is...

Bereaved children often share the same needs as adult grievers: the need for honesty, to feel heard, to understand what has happened around the death, to feel safe, to understand the ‘what now’, particularly in relation to their care.  one of the main differences is...

Respecting Patient Choices® The Respecting Patient Choices Program is promoting advance care planning in the Australian Capital Territory. This program is about the promotion of autonomy and dignity and not about euthanasia or suicide. You have the right to make...

I sometimes hear people tell me that when a loved one dies, their lives are shattered.  They don’t know how their lives will ever return to the way they were before.  The question hangs heavy in the room, “how can I ever pick up the pieces of my life and begin living...