Personal Services
Grief Coaching
Grief coaching is all about moving forward. I wish there was a magic button or a switch that could help us move forward. But just like everything else in life acheiving something you want takes effort. Most people believe they will figure things out. Or, after a certain amount of time, they will just "feel better". Unfortunately that is not always the case and we get "stuck". Personal Grief Coaching are for those people who are not focused on the past... they want to move forward.
In my Journey Back to Joy program it is all about you. You, help uncover your own Journey. I gently guide you through a process which is solely based on your needs and where you are on your Journey. This program is broken down in to 3, 5 & 8 week sessions.
Sometimes it is easy to get lost in the process. You get "hung up", unable to move forward. While I understand how difficult grief can be, I also have the tools to help you through that hurdle. Not around it! But though it, so you can get to the other side, in a healthy and productive way.
There is Joy after a Loss. It is here for you to take it, and I can show you how.
This service is oferred by phone so that you can stay comfortable in your own home.
Schedule Your Complementary Call Today. This call will help you determine if this is the right fit for you, and help you see if you are ready to do the work to begin your....
Journey Back to Joy
A Letter from the desk of
JoAnn Michalik
When you lose a loved one, a part of you changes. It can be hard for other people to understand how you feel. It can be difficult to find the motivation to go back to life as normal. The truth is your life will have a new normal now. You can find happiness and reconnect with joy but you don’t have to be the same person you were before the moment when your whole life changed. How do I know this? My name is JoAnn Michalik and I lost a child. I went through the dark days and I know what it’s like to feel that your world has collapsed and caved in on you. I also know how it feels to find your way back to a thriving, fulfilling life.
As a grief coach, I view your grief as an important part of your healing process. I will not rush you through your grief or make you feel guilty about your feelings. As a grief coach, I do not work to remedy your grief but rather to allow you to feel and express it in a healthy way. Our time together focuses on meeting your needs and gently moving you forward to find your new sense of purpose and joy.
I consider it an honor to assist you
on that journey. Working with me
involves a simple 3-step process:
When we experience the loss of a
loved one, it changes the very core
of who they are. Too often, people
are given the message that grieving
is negative. Sometimes they think
being emotionally healthy means
going back to who they were before
they lost their loved one. They may
feel they should do this as quickly
as possible.
Page 3.
A Letter from the desk of
JoAnn Michalik
Page 2.
A Letter from the desk of
JoAnn Michalik
Trusting your coach is vital to a successful coaching relationship, and part of trusting someone is knowing about them. I’ve been married to my husband John for thirty years. We have three sons and one precious angel in Heaven. Family is important to me. I’m a straight talker and a down-to-earth person. I love life and I try to take full advantage of every day I’m given. I’ve always gravitated toward work that involves helping people, whether it was as a hair stylist, a wig designer for cancer patients or as a religious educator in my church. The common thread in my passions is people. I adore people and I want to see them do well.
One of the first things I tell my clients is to forget those feelings. Picture those feelings as a sheet of paper. Crumple them up, shred them, and forget them.
I subscribe to the radical idea that anyone who has lost someone close to them can chose to embrace their grief. The grief is there for a reason. It’s part of the healing process. Anyone who has lost a loved one has the right to grieve.
I will walk alongside anyone who is grieving, and journey with them through a gamut of emotions. I function as a catalyst as my client finds a new sense of self, achieves new goals and creates special ways to remember their loved one. It’s hard work; it’s uncomfortable work, but the work is invaluable. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Each time I help someone heal, I am comforted as well.
I came to do this important work after grieving the loss of my four-year-old son, Mark. On my healing journey, I came into contact with other parents who had lost their children. As I listened to and supported them, I realized I had a passion for this work. I received my formal grief coach training from H. Norman Wright, a grief expert and author of more than seventy books on grief and loss. You might say I received my informal training behind the chair, during my thirty-five year career as a hair stylist. My personal connection with my clients helped me fine-tune my interaction skills, and helped me become an excellent listener. Listening helped me learn to suspend judgment, which is especially important in grief coaching. I wake up each day excited about the future and thankful for the opportunity to help grieving parents step out of despair and into joyful living
As we work together, the healing becomes the most powerful part of grief.
That’s my philosophy.