Hello, I'm Yvonne.
I'm an accredited counsellor and grief coach based in Matlock, and work online and in-person. I offer warm, grounded support for men and women, young adults, children, and families navigating grief, change, relationship strain, and the emotional challenges that life brings. I help my clients understand emotions such as anger, guilt, anxiety and stress and support them as together we work on coping mechanisms, and even looking at the root cause of these problems.
My approach is warm, friendly, and non-judgemental
My approach is warm and down‑to‑earth, as I listen with empathy. My grief counselling sessions provide you with the opportunity to talk about your loved one, with someone who cares and understands. There's no rush, you can set the pace as we join together to find a way forward. You can say their name freely, without upsetting others. You can talk openly about your experience since your loss, and the associated emotions, such as anger, guilt and regret, without feeling judged.
There are no rules when grieving
Your loss is unique to you, and you can talk about your struggles since the loss of your loved one, without feeling the need to fit in with any set time-limits or experience of grief. I allow my clients to work at their own pace, whether they have recently been bereaved or whether their loss was many years ago. It's surprising how many times I am able to help my clients address losses, even from many years ago, that are causing problems today without them being aware of the root of their difficulties.
Anticipatory Grief
Many people actually begin to grieve long before the physical loss of their loved one - the struggles and emotions we often experience silently are a very valid part of the grief process and often present as guilt and then lead to regrets, and anger. My personal experience helps me to understand just what it's like to grieve before your loss and to be able to provide compassionate support.
Pet loss
One of the most devastating losses is that of our pets and again my personal experiences of pet loss has helped me in my work with my clients. Our grief for our dogs, cats, horses etc. can be as intense as that for our human losses and so I've been able to help clients with practical ways to grieve and deal with the changes and pain associated, particularly if they've had to make the decision to terminate the life of their pet. This can cause a great sense of guilt, and even regret, and having the opportunity to talk through it can help the healing process.
Grief due to other life changes – in relationships, parenting roles, job loss, loss of independence
Grief is 'a reflection of a connection that has been lost' (David Kessler)
Whatever type of loss you’ve experienced, it’s okay to bring it to counselling – this may be a broken relationship, a change of role within family life (particularly for parents, when children reach new levels of independence), job loss, or loss of independence and home in the case of the elderly.
Counselling for anger management, relationship issues, anxiety and stress
For clients that come to me with other problems, I provide a safe place to be able to talk about feelings and emotions that may cause embarrassment, without the fear of judgment, but knowing that they will receive empathy as I listen and support them in finding and developing coping strategies. I am experienced in helping with anger management, relationship issues, anxiety in adults and also in children in addition to my grief counselling.
My main areas of grief counselling are:
- One-to-one counselling with men and women to help them cope without their loved one and find purpose in life again
- Children who need practical help and support with loss
- Teenagers and young people (often group sessions) to help address loneliness in loss
- Baby loss through miscarriage
- Other forms of grief support for life's losses - job loss, relationship break-ups and divorce,loss of independence, and other major life changes
Providing grief counselling for all ages
I am passionate about making grief support available for all people of all ages and backgrounds. Many of my clients are women, as they feel very comfortable talking about their losses to another woman who knows what it's like to me a 'mother-less mother' and the intense pain of baby loss through miscarriages. I also provide support for many men who need support to cope alone after the loss of their wife or partner, through my one-to-one sessions, but also through my local grief support group.
Children’s Grief Support
I feel that children and young people are often in need of specialised grief therapy but their needs are often not realised. I have many years' experience of working with children as a primary school teacher before retraining as a counsellor, and so now provide one-to-one sessions for children where talking about loss can be too painful for parents, who are also grieving.
I provide gentle 1:1 sessions for children, with optional parent involvement to help everyone feel supported. Children have their own confidential space to talk and express their feelings in ways that feel safe and age‑appropriate, but sessions are tailored to individual needs. Parents will receive appropriate feedback towards the end of a session and often support their child with tasks between sessions. I address grief using age-appropriate resources and therapy may include colouring, and craft activities and drawing upon each individual's interests.
Helping young people who feel alone in loss
From my experience working with teenagers and young people, I've found that they find it especially lonely when dealing with loss, many of their friends not having suffered loss yet. To this end, I also provide group counselling, enabling them to share their experience of grief with other young people, which can be very helpful for youngsters that may be having to come to terms with the loss of parents of siblings.
Workplace & School Training
I provide grief‑aware training and wellbeing support for organisations, schools, and businesses. This includes:
- Workshops and talks
- Group sessions
- 1:1 support for employees
- Training for managers, teachers, and HR teams
1:1 Counselling & Grief Coaching
A calm, confidential space to explore grief, anticipatory grief, anxiety, low confidence, emotional overwhelm, or relationship strain. Sessions move at your pace, with compassion and clarity.
I also offer specialist Group Counselling to support:
- Young adults (18–30) who feel alone in their grief
- Women navigating relationship concerns
- Children dealing with loss and needing support from outside the family
