Grief Counseling and Retreats
Grief. The thing we share, the thing we dread, the thing we cannot avoid in life. Grief is not a condition, a diagnosis, or an illness. Grief is the natural physical and emotional reaction to loss...loss of a loved one, loss of health, loss of opportunity, loss through dementia. So many inevitable transitions.
Because we are not taught how to navigate this journey, we often miss the chance to transform our own journeys through grieving those people and circumstances that land on our path. Blue Lotus offers day and overnight retreats to explore the many events of life the bring us sadness: death of family, death of friends, death of pets, tragedy of suicide, the horrible inconceivable loss of a child.
Individual counseling is also provided on occasion by request.
Grief Counseling and Retreats
Grief. The thing we share, the thing we dread, the thing we cannot avoid in life. Grief is not a condition, a diagnosis, or an illness. Grief is the natural physical and emotional reaction to loss...loss of a loved one, loss of health, loss of opportunity, loss through dementia. So many inevitable transitions.
Because we are not taught how to navigate this journey, we often miss the chance to transform our own journeys through grieving those people and circumstances that land on our path. Blue Lotus offers day and overnight retreats to explore the many events of life the bring us sadness: death of family, death of friends, death of pets, tragedy of suicide, the horrible inconceivable loss of a child.
Individual counseling is also provided on occasion by request.
Marlisa Mills
Certified End of Life and Death Doula
Certified Grief and Recovery
Coach
Retired from a career as a therapist and hospice bereavement director, Marlisa has returned from New England to her hometown of Asheville, NC, where she has lived most of her life. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, the University of Georgia and Georgia State, she has worked with patients and families facing end of life issues and all the magic and complications attached for four decades. She has practiced as a licensed social worker and addiction counselor in years past. She is a certified End of Life and Mourning Doula, and holds certification in grief recovery, after-death organizing, and home funeral conduction. Her passion is working with the emotional and spiritual aspects of the end-of-life journey and empowering people to make conscious, sacred choices. She lives and works in
Black Mountain, North Carolina.
Annie Gustely
Certified End of Life Doula
Certified Creative Grief Practitioner
Annie is a retired school counselor and teacher, having worked with children of all ages for nearly three decades. She is originally from Northeastern Ohio and moved to the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina in 2007. Annie is a graduate of Kent State University and The University of Akron. She has dedicated her career to supporting and guiding children and families through all of the ups and downs, joys and losses of everyday life. She specializes in working with both young and old in dealing with the emotions of loss through the means of artistic expression and creative play. She is a certified Reiki instructor and has studied mindfulness and meditation. She lives in Black Mountain.
