Joanne Reed

When life no longer makes sense

When someone dies, it can feel as though the world expects you to carry on while your own has fallen apart. You may look as though you're coping because you've gone back to work, you're looking after everyone else, or you're simply getting through each day. Yet inside, everything feels different.

Perhaps your mind won't stop racing. Perhaps you feel numb and wonder why you can't cry. Perhaps you're frightened by your own thoughts, exhausted by the effort of pretending you're okay, or quietly asking yourself questions that nobody else seems to understand.

These are often the thoughts that feel too difficult to say out loud.

I'm Joanne, an Accredited BACP Grief & Loss Counsellor specialising in bereavement, including suicide loss. I offer online and telephone counselling for adults across the UK, supporting people through the many ways grief can affect their lives.

You don't have to carry this alone

Grief reaches far beyond sadness. It can affect your confidence, your relationships, your sense of identity and your ability to feel safe in the world. It may leave you living with guilt, anxiety, loneliness, panic, depression or an overwhelming fear of losing someone else. For some people, particularly after a sudden, traumatic or suicide bereavement, grief can feel as though life has stopped moving whilst everyone else carries on.

Whether your loss happened recently or many years ago, you don't have to meet a particular definition of grief to deserve support. If your loss is still affecting your life, your relationships or your wellbeing, your experience matters.

What working together can look like

You might wonder what talking about your grief could possibly change when the person you love is still gone. It's an understandable question, and one we can explore together.

Counselling cannot change what happened or take away the person you're missing. What it can offer is an opportunity to understand what you're experiencing, explore the thoughts and feelings that may be keeping you stuck, and find ways to make everyday life a little more manageable.

Sometimes the changes are small and gradual. You might notice you're spending less time replaying what happened, feeling less consumed by guilt, sleeping a little better or finding it easier to make decisions. Perhaps you begin to talk about the person who died without feeling quite so overwhelmed. Progress isn't always straightforward, and there may still be difficult days, but those small changes can matter.

My approach is person-centred and trauma-informed, drawing on CBT and solution-focused therapy where helpful. There's no timetable to follow and no expectation that you should be ready to move on. Our work is shaped around you, at a pace that feels right.

If you're ready

If you'd like to know more about how I work, you'll find further information on my website, including answers to frequently asked questions, articles about grief and practical resources you can explore in your own time.

You can also book a free 15-minute introductory telephone call directly through my website. It's an opportunity to ask questions, get a feel for how I work and decide whether counselling with me feels right for you, without any pressure to commit.

I offer a free 15-minute introductory telephone call, which you can book directly through my website. It's an opportunity to ask questions, tell me a little about what has brought you to counselling if you wish, and get a feel for whether working together might be right for you. There's no pressure to share more than you're comfortable with or to book a session afterwards.