A new grief program in Montreal West aims to help people who are struggling with feelings of being alone, isolated or misunderstood following major events of loss, such as divorce/break-ups, career changes, miscarriages/infertility, or the sudden death of a loved one.

Led by grief specialist and life coach, Nicole Keefler, the eight-week Grief Recovery Method Program begins on Wednesday, Oct. 16 and will allow people to share their experiences in a small, confidential group setting. The program was created by the Grief Recovery Institute, an American-based organization that helps people with loss.

Keefler says when people are grief-stricken, they often disconnect from loved ones or work, and lose touch with their sense of joy and interest in life. The goal of the program is to help participants better understand their grief and move through the pain.

Geared to people 18 and over, participants will  be given tools to help them move through their grief and understand the factors that can prevent them from healing. This often includes unresolved previous losses which can have a cumulative negative effect on their ability to cope. “The more losses we accumulate in our lifetime, the more difficult it is to move through all of them as they sort of pile up on top of each other,” she said.

Keefler has had a lot of grief in her life, having lost her childhood best friend, her sister and brother-in-law as well as dealing with her own divorce and that of her parents. She says those life experiences motivated her to help others.

“It was this particular program (Grief Recovery Method) that really helped me to find the healing that I needed,” she says. “I stand behind the program because I’ve been through it myself and I know that it works and that it has had a profound impact on me and all the people that I work with.”

Before becoming a professional life coach, Keefler worked in mental health and was one of the founding members of Anxiety Canada, an online resource for people who suffer from anxiety disorders.

The program costs $599. For more information, call 514-770-6295.