Explore how ambiguous loss and anticipatory grief affect attachment, identity, and relationships, and support clients living with uncertainty.

As an attachment-based psychotherapist, lecturer, and former NHS research genetic counsellor, I have worked alongside individuals and families navigating losses that do not fit traditional grief models. Ambiguous loss often leaves people feeling emotionally suspended between presence and absence, carrying ongoing uncertainty without the relief of closure.

In this reflective and practice-focused workshop, we will explore ambiguous loss and anticipatory grief through different theoretical lenses. Drawing on the work of Pauline Boss and my clinical experience in genetics-informed practice, we will consider why uncertainty can be so emotionally and physiologically demanding for both clients and therapists.

Using examples from neurodegenerative illness and relational loss, we will explore how grief can begin long before a loss occurs, why clients may feel caught between hope and grief, and how ambiguous loss presents in the therapy room through guilt, exhaustion, shame, confusion, and feelings of being stuck.

You will gain practical insights, reflective awareness, and increased confidence in working with complex grief presentations, helping you move from feeling stuck or helpless towards providing meaningful Attuned therapeutic support.

Description supplied by the event organiser.