In a profession built on listening and communication death can leave us silent. Many therapists describe bereavement work as one of the most challenging areas of practice — not because grief is unfamiliar but because it touches something deeply human that our culture often prefers to avoid.

January 1st. A clean slate. A new, improved you. Fitter, thinner, happier, more 'successful', tidier, a better friend, daughter, sister. The list goes on. No wonder that by the middle of the month the sense of disappointment in ourselves and of ruminating on all our failings can be overwhelming.