Festive season grief

Manager of Balla Balla Communuty Centre Maree Cullinan with life coach Amanda Lee. Ms Lee will host a workshop program for those grieving in the lead up to Christmas. 128505 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS 128505

By BRIDGET SCOTT

LIFE coach Amanda Lee knows all too well that the cheery festive season isn’t always a happy time for some.
However, it doesn’t have to stay that way and Ms Lee is here to help anyone dealing with grief or bereavement issues.
Blaze Coaching Christmas Grief Preparation Workshops will be held at the Balla Balla Community Centre in Cranbourne in the six weeks that lead up to Christmas.
Local resident, Ms Lee, the founder of Blaze Coaching, said these workshops are designed to help people on their road to recovery.
“Sadly, not everyone enjoys this time of year,” she said.
“Grief impacts everyone in different ways.”
“Based on personal experience and using different life coaching techniques specific for grief recovery, this program is designed to allow each person to tailor their support and develop their own Grief Recovery Toolkit.”
Ms Lee said the coaching to helping those who are grieving is different from counselling. She said it helps instil a belief in people that they can help themselves and others.
She said the workshops are designed to help people identify their grief triggers and develop strategies for these.
“I’m most passionate about helping people integrate the loss into their lives,” she said.
“Moving forward doesn’t mean moving on and forgetting, it simply means learning how to cope with the loss so that your grief doesn’t turn into depression.”
Ms Lee hoped to equip people with coping tools and strategies to make what is sometimes a hard time of the year, that little bit easier.
The workshops are being run every Tuesday evening from 7.30pm – 9pm for $35 per session, or $30 with concession and you can pay as you go.
The program commences Tuesday 18 November with the last session on 23 December.
For more information and to register, call Amanda Lee on 0430 322 306 or email amanda@blazecoaching.com.au.