ONLINE THERAPY FOR
ANTICIPATORY GRIEF
EXPERTISE + COMPASSION
Virtual Therapy for Anticipatory Grief Therapy in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia
Virtual Therapy for Anticipatory Grief Therapy in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
At It's Not Wednesday, we offer online therapy for people experiencing anticipatory grief. This is the grief that begins before a loss has fully happened. This often comes with caring for someone living with dementia, chronic illness, or a progressive condition. You may be watching someone you love change over time, while still needing to show up for them in the present.
Therapy offers space to process this layered experience - holding love, sadness, uncertainty, and responsibility all at once.
THE REALITY OF ANTICIPATORY GRIEF
Anticipatory grief can feel confusing and isolating. You may be grieving someone who is still here, while also trying to stay present with them. There can be moments of connection alongside moments of loss, sometimes within the same day. It can be difficult to explain to others why you feel such a deep sense of sadness when nothing has "fully" happened yet.
YOU MAY RECOGNIZE YOURSELF HERE
-
+You feel like you are grieving someone who is still alive
-
+You notice gradual changes that feel like small losses over time
-
+You feel guilt for experiencing grief before a loss has happened
-
+You are trying to stay present while also fearing what is ahead
-
+You feel emotionally exhausted from holding both hope and sadness
-
+You are navigating caregiving while already feeling a sense of loss
IN SESSION
How Therapy Can Support Anticipatory Grief
Anticipatory grief is the grief that begins before a loss, usually after a diagnosis, through the progression of an illness like dementia or cancer, or while watching someone you love or a relationship slowly change. It's the experience of grieving someone who is still here.
It's complex and often unspoken. You may feel like you're not allowed to grieve yet, or that naming the grief means giving up hope. Others around you may not understand why you're mourning while the person is still alive. The grief is real, but it can feel like there's nowhere to put it.
Therapy offers a place where this experience can be acknowledged without needing to justify or explain it. Together, we explore how to hold both the present and the future, while staying connected to yourself within it.
WHAT WE’LL WORK ON
ACT
MAKING SPACE FOR DIFFICULT EMOTIONS
Anticipatory grief can bring waves of sadness, fear, guilt, and uncertainty - sometimes all in the same day. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps you make space for these emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them, while staying connected to what matters in the present: the time, the moments, and the relationship that still exist.
DBT
TOOLS FOR EMOTIONAL OVERWHELM AND STRESS
Living in ongoing uncertainty places a constant strain on the nervous system. You may be bracing for news, holding it together through appointments, never quite able to exhale. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers practical tools to help regulate emotional intensity, manage stress, and create moments of steadiness within circumstances you can't control.
IFS
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOU
You may notice different parts of you responding in different ways.
One part holding hope. One part already grieving. One part trying to stay strong for everyone else.
Parts-based therapy helps you understand and relate to these experiences with more compassion and clarity — because all of these parts can be true at once..
Navigating Identity and the Future (Existential Therapy)
EXISTENTIAL THERAPY
NAVIGATING IDENTITY AND FUTURE
Anticipatory grief often brings deeper questions about time, meaning, and what it means to love someone through change. Existential therapy creates space to explore these questions while helping you stay grounded in what matters to you now. Not to resolve the uncertainty, but to live meaningfully within it.