Cordelia Mejin, Anchored Hearts Counselling and Grief Therapy

08/06/2025

Back in 1996, researchers Dennis Klass, Phyllis R. Silverman, and Steven Nickman introduced a powerful idea that changed how we understand grief. Instead of saying we need to “move on” from or “let go” of someone we’ve lost, they suggested something much more compassionate: it’s normal and healthy to stay connected.⁠
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This is called the Continuing Bonds Theory. Whether it’s talking to your loved one, keeping their photo close, or honoring their memory in small ways, maintaining that bond can actually help you heal.⁠
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Wondering how you can continue your bond with your loved one? Here are 4 of the 16 helpful ideas What's Your Grief shared in this article we highly recommend reading if you want to learn more: https://whatsyourgrief.com/16-practical-tips-continuing-bonds/ 💙

07/30/2025

Feeling lost or low? Grief impacts more than your heart, it changes your whole body! 💔💪

Join the FREE online webinar, “The Grieving Body: How Grief Affects the Body & Our Relationship with Food & Energy.”

Nutrition Counsellor Vera Decena will share practical tips and real talk about healing, energy, and appetite after loss. 🥗✨

🗓️ August 12, 2025
⏰ 7–8PM PST (online!)
🔗 Register here 👉 http://bit.ly/4l5kaoY
Let’s heal together, one bite at a time.

07/21/2025

Walking With You: A Grief Support Walk by BC Bereavement Helpline x Tech2Step Network Canada
Healing in Motion – A Path to Connection, Step by Step
Because no one has to feel alone in grief.

🗓️ This summer, join this group walk every last Monday of the month (July 28, August 25)
🕕 6:00–7:00 PM
📍 New Westminster? (Exact location will be shared upon registration)
🧭 Gathering from 6:00 to 6:15 PM | Walk begins at 6:15 PM

Who is this walk for?
This walk is for anyone who is grieving the loss of someone — whether your loss is recent or from years past. Rooted in BCBH's mission to offer compassionate support, this walk provides a safe and inclusive space to connect with others who understand the grief journey. All are welcome. Minors may attend when accompanied by an adult.

Find out more: https://lu.ma/8qxz3zuf

07/01/2025

“When are you going to get over it?” That was the question someone asked me—just two weeks after a significant and traumatic loss. I was too stunned to answer. I don’t remember how I responded, but I’ll never forget how wrong that question felt.

Grief is not linear. It’s not a checklist. And it certainly isn’t something we just “get over.”

In this blog, I share why I don’t rely on the 5 stages of grief model in my practice—and offer alternative grief frameworks that honor the real, layered, and deeply human experience of loss.

If you're supporting someone through grief (or grieving yourself), I hope this perspective creates space for compassion, permission, and understanding.

📖 Read the full post: https://anchoredhearts.ca/blog/grief-has-no-map-why-i-dont-follow-the-5-stages-of-grief-as-a-grief-therapist

“When are you going to get over it?” That was the question someone asked me—just two weeks after a significant and traumatic loss. I was too stunned to answer. I don’t remember how I responded, but I’ll never forget how wrong that question felt. This moment reflects a common misunderstandi...

06/25/2025

“I should have called more. I should have done something differently.”
If you’ve lost someone, these thoughts may feel painfully familiar.

As both a grief therapist and a griever, I know how heavy guilt, regret, and the relentless “what ifs” can be. In my latest blog post, I share gentle reflections and considerations for navigating these complex emotions — especially when they show up uninvited.

👉 Read: “The Heaviest Part of Grief – A Grief Therapist’s Tips for Coping with Guilt, Regret, and the What-Ifs”
🔗 https://anchoredhearts.ca/blog/the-heaviest-part-of-grief-a-grief-therapists-tips-for-coping-with-guilt-regret-and-the-what-ifs

If this resonates, or you know someone who’s quietly carrying these emotions — please share.

I’ve sat with many who carry the quiet weight of ‘what ifs’ - these lingering thoughts haunt the heart after loss.” Maybe you're carrying some of these too.  Though guilt and regret often come together, they’re not the same. In this blog post, we share about the difference between gui...

05/27/2025

💔🤍💔
What happens when the person, the place, the presence that once held us — comforted us, grounded us — is suddenly gone?
When the arms that sheltered us, the voice that steadied us, the room that made the world feel bearable, disappears?

We’re told to seek solace in familiar things — but what if they were the solace?
What if the person we lost was the refuge, the lighthouse, the steady ground?

Grief becomes a freefall when the loss is not just of someone we love,
but of the very place we went to feel okay in a world that often isn’t.
It's like losing both the storm shelter and being thrown back into the storm.

So where do we go, then?
Maybe the answer is: we carry them with us. We rebuild.
Not the same, never the same — but piece by piece,
we learn to find flickers of safety in memories,
in the people who show up,
in the spaces we create in their honour,
in moments of stillness where their love echoes.

But it’s okay to admit it:
There is no pain quite like losing the place we felt most safe.

With many thanks to for the words below 🤍

05/14/2025

So good. Must read if you’re supporting a person who is grieving.

05/03/2025

CBC spoke with Eliezer Moreno, MSW, RSW
and I about grieving the losses in relation the Lapu Lapu Festival. It’s so crucial for grief to be witnessed in community and for grief to be carried together as a community as this makes it more bearable.

As Eliezer mentions, collective grief needs collective mourning.

04/27/2025

My heart is with the Filipino community of Vancouver and also of Philippines and various places where families and friends who are impacted reside. To the Filipino community, I am holding you in my heart as you grieve and mourn. I grieve with you. This is heartbreaking, and devastating. I stand in solidarity with you. Throughout my years as a counsellor, I regularly support members of this community and you all have a special place in my heart. To my former and current clients, I’m right there with you and I’m sending you all my love and care.

Here is a list of resources including counselling resources:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRZ3AegoWXSh8zO6keX7TIEWIcHLd50LZUXxFUnp-J_lzg2mygyzPjiO3dqqgip43eWsesm2TamRs4-/pub?sfnsn=mo&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR5swehWWK3FRqKpPBk2EaTafaC1Jz4oDSM5LViHU6sV8dGfk3BsRattCp2IWw_aem_k8YEK42mLIGfjzRrt6bqgQ

A group of local Filipinos in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are coming together to support folks who are impacted by today's tragedy in Vancouver at the Lapu Lapu Festival.

04/12/2025

Hi everyone, my name is Cordelia and I am a grief therapist in BC, Canada. Hopping on this recent trend and sharing a bit about myself. What is important for you to know is that I put my heart into each encounter I have with each individual I support. One thing that is harder to capture in brief words and arrows on the picture above is how grief, death and loss is a big part of who I am and is a part of my therapist self. Experiencing death and non-death losses over the years have shaped me into the person and professional I am today. Through life’s adversities, I have come to know pain and grief as a close friend.

It has also cultivated compassion and empathy for people going through grief in all shapes and forms. I have a soft spot for people grieving all types of losses - whether it be death or non-death. All losses alter the way we see this world and how we relate to this world. We need to talk more about non-death losses. Non death/living losses such as immigration, friendship loss, health loss (cancer, chronic illness, chronic pain, invisible disability and medical complexities), loss of dreams, singleness not by choice, infertility and childless not by choice are amongst the many losses that are often not recognized in society as things that cause deep grief. This includes grieving the childhood you never had due to parents who emotionally abused/neglected you. Whatever loss that you are grieving right now, I see you and feel with you.

When someone validates our grief, gives us space to cry, and not push to find a lesson in our pain, it opens up room to integrate our losses in a way that makes sense for us. Your loss deserves a safe, non-judgmental space to be held and witnessed.

With care and warmth,
Cordelia

04/12/2025

Hi, my name is Cordelia and it has been awhile since I last posted. Hopping on this recent trend and sharing a bit about myself and my approach to therapy. Although this post gives a lighthearted vibe, one thing that is hard to capture in brief words and arrows on the picture is how grief, death and loss is a part of who I am including my therapist part. Experiencing death and non-death losses over the years have shaped me into the person and professional I am today. Through life’s adversities and hardships, I have come to know pain and grief as a close friend.

It has also cultivated compassion and empathy for people going through grief in all forms - whether it be death or non-death. All losses alter the way we see this world and how we relate to this world. We need to talk more about non-death losses. Non death/living losses such as immigration, friendship loss, health loss (chronic illness, chronic pain, invisible disability and medical complexities), loss of dreams, singleness not by choice, infertility and childless not by choice are amongst the many losses that are often not recognized in society as things that cause deep grief. Grieving a family and parents you have often yearned for is a form of living loss - this includes grieving the childhood you never had due to parents who emotionally abused/neglected you. There are too many types of losses to list here but I want to honour the wide range of losses that continues to be part of the human condition.

We are not meant to grieve alone. When someone comes alongside us, validates our grief, gives us space to cry, and not have to find a lesson in our pain, it opens up room to integrate our losses in a way that makes sense for us.

If you know or anyone is grieving a loss, your loss deserves a safe, non-judgmental space to be held and witnessed.

With care and warmth,
Cordelia

03/13/2025

There it is.