About Me
Claudia Coenen, CGC, FT, MTP Photo: Juliet LoFaro Potrait Photography
My work springs from this central question:
How can life events help us transform into better, more compassionate and connected humans? How can we approach each day, each relationship, with awareness and love?
How can we feel whole again? How can we go on?
Everyone will experience grief many times during the course of a lifetime. How we navigate these disruptions is my focus. When my husband died suddenly in May 2005, I used every resource - journaling, poetry, crafts, dancing and moving meditation. In 2008, I entered graduate school to learn grief theory and counseling. I studied humanistic psychology and developed methods to deal with the trauma of personal loss. In November 2022, I was widowed again and what I have learned through the years of study and practice is now generating more compassion for all who suffer multiple losses.
As an author, musician, dancer, choreographer, mother, teacher, innovator and a chef, I've spent my life exploring creativity and spirituality. This has taught me skills to deal with difficulty and has led to greater understanding of relationships. Performance art has enabled me to connect with people, to spontaneously gather information by responding to body language and other subtle forms of communication. Parenting and world travel gives me insight so that I can listen and respond more effectively to clients.
My approach is both creative and transpersonal, integrating all aspects of our Selves, balancing physical, emotional, cognitive, relational and spiritual health, actualizing us into more than the sum of our parts. This holistic view is uniquely compatible with grief work.
I am a Fellow in Thanatology with expertise in the field of death, dying and bereavement. I am certified in Grief Counseling and in Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction. I am experienced in pre-bereavement and anticipatory grief, including coping with cancer and serious illness. The techniques and creative tools can assist you in finding insight and resilience within bereavement. I also offer workshops and innovative programs as well as compassionate support.
We grieve because we love, and our life experiences provide us with skills and resources that come to our aid in times of tragedy and struggle. Let me help you discover how you can help yourself travel through your grief, rediscovering your essential wholeness.