Workshops
Knowledge and self-awareness both illuminate and empower, and for this reason counsellor-facilitated workshops are regular Akashic offerings. COVID-19 temporarily changed the ability for our groups to meet in person, and while we hope to get back to physical gatherings soon, some 2023 workshops will still be available online/Zoom.
Learn more about Akashic’s three ongoing workshop offerings below:
- Celebrating Spirit – a six-session loss and grief group for human loss
- Celebrating Animal Spirit – a three session loss and grief group for animal companion (pet) loss
- Celebrate HER – an expressive writing workshop to celebrate important women in our lives whether they be ‘passed’ (no longer with us) or still very much in the present
Custom workshops can also be designed upon request!
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“A thoughtful, gentle, compassionate workshop.”
“I’ve learned I’m more resilient than I thought I was, that I am not alone, and that I really enjoy journalling. I’ve gained many different ways to deal with my grief and I no longer feel stuck or purposeless.”
“The depth of Michelle’s knowledge and insights around grief and loss tied together with the compassionate experience she has created are both so evident.”
“An incredibly helpful resource for people to deal with this difficult, but inevitable, reality of life.”
CELEBRATING SPIRIT
Have you lost someone you love? Maybe your loss was recent, or perhaps it was awhile back but your heart still aches. Do you sometimes feel like you want to be ‘further along’ in your healing process, might be stuck in your pain and grief, and it may be somehow holding you back from a more fulfilling life? While nothing can erase the pain of losing a loved one, learning about the experiences of others, receiving educational materials, combined with expressive writing is a powerful way to enhance the enduring bond to your loved one.
CELEBRATING Spirit is a six-session, counsellor-facilitated, loss and grief group designed to enhance self-awareness and healing relating to loss, grief, and bereavement. CELEBRATING Spirit provides a safe place to express feelings and impacts of loss through sharing with others who just ‘get it’, and the introduction to expressive writing techniques and an ongoing journaling practice to accompany your healing journey as it changes over time.
CELEBRATING Spirit participants can expect to:
- Identify feelings and impacts relating to your loss and express them through engagement in a supportive group setting with other who also want to share and listen
- Develop or expand self-awareness through an ongoing journal writing practice to manage your bereavement process as it changes over time
- Learn specific journaling techniques and reflective prompts to integrate into your journey – from “coping with” to “adapting to” loss
- Receive loss, grief, and bereavement resources to support and restore your capacity to thrive
- Reframe your narrative: consider a shift in perspective and what is ‘your story’ after this loss?
- Create methods to celebrate honour the memory of your loved one while building an enduring connection
- Discover your authentic and unique path to healing and Enhance your “Resilience Portfolio”
Access and honour the spirit of those who are no longer with us – feel their presence as much or more than their absence – and contribute to your individual journey of self-discovery and healing.
Each CELEBRATING Spirit course is 2 hours per week for six weeks for total program length of 12 hours and group size is limited to 8 participants.
The next CELEBRATING Spirit workshop series will be held in spring 2023.
CELEBRATING ANIMAL SPIRIT
The Loss of a Beloved Animal Companion
Anyone who has experienced the loss of an animal companion understands just how heart-breaking this can be. These sage creatures emanate endless unconditional love, quietly teach us in ways we never could have imagined, and much of our thoughts and daily routine is linked to the intensely rewarding enjoyment of their company and to their care. All too often however, pet loss can be diminished, and is not acknowledged in the same way as other losses in society (known as disenfranchised grief), and even more so in the backdrop of disconnect in an ongoing global pandemic.
Celebrating Animal Spirit is a three-session, counsellor-facilitated workshop designed to address the specific topic of animal companion (pet) loss, in a safe and supportive environment.
Workshop participants receive:
- Six hours of workshop time (three, 2-hour sessions) facilitated by a loss and grief specialist
- A safe setting (group size limited to 10) to normalize feelings and explore impacts relating to your loss
- Educational materials and resources to validate this special kind of grief
- Specific expressive writing techniques to integrate into your healing journey
- The opportunity to experience a shift to a place where peace, ease, and joy CAN co-exist with sadness
- Unique and authentic methods to honour and celebrate the memory of your beloved animal companion
- One memorial/expressive writing submission to the online Akashic Writer’s Nook
Upcoming CELEBRATING ANIMAL SPIRIT workshop dates will be determined based on interest…be sure to reach out!
this loss alone...
Celebrate HER
We all have – or have had – important and influential women in our lives – a mother, grandmother, sister, niece, mentor, BFF, or colleague… Who is she? Why is she important to you? Does she know? Whether passed or present – perhaps it is time to Celebrate HER!
Inspiring, illuminating, and creating space for new conversations and connections, Celebrate HER highlights the lives of these important women, can bring new perspective to your relationship and own life experiences, and can also be an instrument of healing. As an added bonus, the resulting piece can make a great gift!
Each Celebrate HER expressive writing workshop has two components:
- One 6-hour workshop structured to provide an introduction to expressive writing techniques, exercises, and reflective prompts. The session includes time to start composing and share early process thoughts and/or excerpts of your work in a safe and supportive setting
- One 2-hour follow-up session. Part of Celebrate HER experience is the opportunity to have others bear witness to this woman’s unique essence – to share her with others. In this session, participants update the group on progress since the workshop and/or read completed writing
The next Celebratre HER expressive writing experience will be held in April:
Sat April 15th: 10am to 4pm (6 hour workshop)
Sat April 29th: 10am to Noon (2 hour follow-up)
Program Fee: $199 + GST
Location: Online/Zoom
*Tell Michelle if you wish to structure your writing exercises so you can submit to the My Mother’s Story project! After writing her own mother’s story in 2015, Michelle became the first MMS facilitator; running writing workshops and supporting others on their journey to document and honour their mothers. In 2021, she counsellor-facilitated the writing workshops for 20 adults who experienced the loss of their mother in childhood or adolescence, and was an editor and contributing author to the Amazon Canada bestelling anthology My Mother’s Story:Gone Too Soon (2022).