Areas of Practise

Grief and Bereavement Counselling; Pet Companion Loss; Individual and Small Group Grief Counselling

Population Served

Adult, Early Adolescents, Geriatric, Late Adolescents

Services Offered

Assessment, Family Therapy, Group Therapy, Individual Therapy

Biography

Tim Boulton practices counselling and therapy in Guelph under the supervision of a Registered Psychologist or Registered Psychological Associate who are members of the College of Psychologists of Ontario.

Grief is individual and unique. As every relationship is unique, so are the feelings and thoughts each person will have about the relationship that has been altered by death, divorce, or other reasons. Recovery from loss is accomplished, in part, by discovering and completing the undelivered communications in our relationships. You may find yourself having conversatinos in your head with someone you cannot speak to in person, thinking of the better, different, or more replays of what hasn't been said. Completion of pain caused by loss is what allows us to let go of what might have been, hold on to the goodness of what was, and move beyond our loss to being present to our lives now.

There is a long list of losses which can produce the range of experiences and emotions that we call "grief", often compounding upon one another. Tim can help with:

• Death of a loved, or not-so-loved one
• Divorce/Separation/Estrangement
• Loss of children, through death or distance (emotional, geographical)
• Death of a former spouse/partner
• Death of a pet companion
• "Blue" Holidays
• Legal problems
• Empty nest, or children starting school
• Coming out as a whole gay or lesbian person. Transition into the LGBT community
• Retirement, resulting in a loss of familiarity, community, purpose
• Major health changes - loss of independence, through age, illness or frailty
• Loss of community - faith, club, place of employment, extended family
• Loss of income/lifestyle through major financial changes
• Loss of friends - through conflict, divorce/separation
• Moving from one community to another
• Loss of purpose
• And many other losses

In moving through your grief experience we will consider: old and unhelpful beliefs you may have been taught about dealing with loss; we will look at how all of your losses, your loss history, have affected your whole life; we will discover what habits and behaviours you may be engaging in to consciously or unconsciously distract yourself from your sadness; we will teach you new, helpful actions which lead to completion of the pain attached to your recent loss, or one that occurred long ago.

Tim is a Psychotherapist in downtown Guelph, Ontario. Tim has personal experience and professional insight into the journey of deep loss, mourning and grief. He has 25+ years of experience in teaching and counselling as an ordained minister and Hospital Chaplain. At the age of 41, Tim became a young widower, the father of three young children. Tim knows, personally, the path of grief recovery and healing. He has re-discovered renewal, energy and passion, and feels compelled to share his story and experience in service to others. Tim 'Will Walk With You' along your journey, creating a safe environment in which to discover your healing, completion and renewal.

* Pet Companion Loss is one experience that Tim is particularly interested in, and has specific training for. Pet Companion Loss can have a very deep impact on our whole life. Tim takes this loss experience very seriously and is sensitive to the unique grief issues related to the compounded losses of Pet Companion Loss.*