Elaine specialises in providing psychological care for individuals with life-limiting conditions, for those nearing the end of their life, and their loved ones, helping them to navigate, engage with and soften their journey. She is also an experienced grief and bereavement therapist, supporting the bereaved through their experience of loss, healing and grief recovery. For those who experience fears around death and dying, at any time in their life, Elaine eases these fears through her deep understanding and reassurance grounded in professional experience. For over twenty years, Elaine has researched exceptional psychological experiences associated with the end of life. Such experiences include end-of-life visions, terminal lucidity and after-death communication. Elaine assists those who have had such experiences to integrate these experiences and to grow through them.

The end-of-life journey can evoke a complex mix of thoughts, emotions, needs and challenges that are unique to each individual. Elaine guides those moving through this towards experiencing a sense of well-being, calm, resilience, hope, safety, meaning, preparedness and completion, as well as towards embracing life as fully as possible. Her unique and reassuring approach to easing end-of-life fears, anxieties and concerns, facilitating acceptance and encouraging active engagement with the journey brings comfort and strength to both the dying person and those they love.

Elaine spent time with my terminally ill wife, as well as with myself and our two children. I know that the time Elaine spent with my wife was invaluable to her. The year they spent together gave my wife the emotional support and coping skills she needed for the end of life and, essentially, afforded her total peace of mind. Under the circumstances, her quality of life and sense of well-being could not have been better. My wife was fully prepared to face the end of her life, as was the family, and she did so with courage and a loving heart (Bereaved Widower)

Knowing that your loved one’s life is limited is life-changing, and experiencing deep feelings of grief before their death is natural. This is known as anticipatory grief. The thoughts and emotions that it brings can can make life, pre-bereavement, challenging. It may be helpful to seek support in order to express and work through your thoughts and emotions, to consolidate a sense of being able to cope, and to prepare for your loved one’s journey.

As a grief and bereavement therapist, Elaine devotes a large segment of her time to assisting the bereaved through one of life’s most challenging, painful and uninvited life events, and supports them through their process of healing and recovery. Within this recovery process, growth and renewal are possible although, for many, this may initially feel impossible. Grief is a normal, and uniquely personal, psychological response to loss. The emotions one feels may perhaps range from shock to numbness, anxiety to emptiness, despair to anger, yearning to hatred, or guilt and shame, all of which are natural responses to loss.

The death of someone who is dearly loved and important to you can evoke emotions that are intense, complex and overwhelming. Bereavement has both a psychological and physical impact on a person, with sleep disturbance, apathy, fatigue and changes in appetite as some of the physiological responses. One’s distress may feel unsettling, unfamiliar, complicated and too much to bear. In the devastating wake caused by the loss that has been experienced, insecurity, uncertainty, the absence of meaning and direction, as well as a diminished sense of well-being can become unwelcome aspects of a grieving person’s unfamiliar, everyday landscape. Loss is a life-changing experience from which the way forward may feel uncertain and unknown but the capacity to cope, to find hope for the future, to recover and to ‘live again’ can emerge.

Bereavement is unpredictable in its pathway and has no set end time. It requires patience and it is important to accept your feelings as natural and valid. Self-acceptance and self-compassion can help you through the difficult journey towards acceptance of your loss, healing and restoration. So, too, can support, bereavement counselling and grief therapy.

‘Two years ago I unexpectedly lost my husband to Covid after a lifelong beautiful marriage and, after a year, I turned to Elaine. Elaine has helped me to walk a journey of grieving and without her I do not think that I would have coped with the hurdles I found myself facing… I share my innermost thoughts and feelings with her and I trust Elaine completely. What I share with her is rewarded back to me with a deep understanding of where I am at and highly insightful guidance. There is no judgement or pressure, and she is always in tune with me. She holds me in a safe space; is an excellent listener and guide; and is a brilliant professional disguised as a guardian angel.’ (Marilyn, Bereaved Widow).

Facing our mortality is an integral part of being human, and this is seldom achieved without some level of anxiety and uncertainty. As we age, even if we are physically fit and well, we may become increasingly preoccupied with thoughts surrounding the end of life. Our mortality also tends to come into focus if we have recently lost a loved one. In the midst of our loss and bereavement, we may find ourselves overwhelmed with questions as to our loved one’s continued well-being beyond this lifetime, or face uncertainties about the end of our own life. These thoughts, questions and concerns interfere with our enjoyment of life and the capacity to live life to the full. In her consulting work, Elaine assists those who are experiencing fears and anxieties relating to their own mortality. In so doing, these uncertainties and concerns are replaced with reassurance and self-reliance, and a renewed capacity to embrace life and living.

I felt reassured that my angst about dying was not justified. Elaine exudes non-judgemental compassion and understanding and this makes deep, meaningful, communication with her very easy (Dave E.)