JULIAN BOWERS-BROWN

How to live with loss

Welcome. I help people facing the insecurities of illness and death-related loss.I work with individual private clients navigating their sense of loss resulting from chronic, acute and life-limiting illness, and those grieving the loss of a loved one. I also work as a Zen Buddhist Hospice Chaplain, offering spiritual and pastoral care to patients and those important to them, whatever their beliefs or backgrounds. This includes pastoral counselling and guided meditation for people facing the many losses that accompany illness, people with a terminal diagnosis or who are at end of life, as well as those anticipating or grieving a loved one.I take pride in helping people who have not found the help they need previously. In all my work, my approach brings tenderness, non-judgement and calm to help adults facing difficulties and distress to make sense of their experiences and uncover compassionate ways to understand themselves and their circumstances, so that they can feel a greater sense of peace and ease within themselves and their life circumstances.As well as my direct work with individuals, I write an online column How to Live with Loss for those seeking to better understand their sense of loss and grief.Get in touch

I am a professional listener, meaning I prioritise my client’s needs to be heard and understood, in the mist of stress, distress or sadness. I listen, without judgement, to difficult, sometimes uncomfortable or embarrassing thoughts or feelings, which may not have been front of mind or felt safe enough to articulate before. This is not a quick fix set of solutions but a process that requires genuineness and patience to remove the mask and distractions that we often employ to ward off our fears. As such, it can be life-changing to be 'heard' in this way, and to feel that our difficulties and our selves are deeply acknowledged and understood. Over a relatively short time, it can bring about profound change in how someone feels about themselves, their previous fears and the meaning and purpose of their lives, leading them to greater contentment and ease.I am focussed in two areas of adult experience that often feel so isolating and difficult; people facing loss of their ability and identity as a result of illness, and those navigating feelings of grief and loss for a loved one.I have many years of experience in offering pastoral support as well as training through and being accredited by the International Coaching Federation and the British School of Meditation. I have also trained with CRUSE Bereavement in supporting people through grief and loss and undertaken further specialised training in Exhistential approaches and Compassion-Focused Grief Therapy.I am a Zen Buddhist and bring this as a way of being calmly present with and serving a person’s individual needs, from whatever background, be it secular or religious. I have worked in this way as a professionally trained chaplain at four large city hospitals and have returned this year to Hospice Chaplaincy alongside my private work.The contemplation of our own vulnerability or mortality, or the bereavement of someone close to us are often profoundly life-altering experiences and I work with these sensitively and compassionately to help people understand and come to terms with the loss of certainty and solidity that often accompany profound grief, for ourselves and others. It can feel impossible to find the words to express the depth of loss and sadness we feel, for the individual who is dying or has died, but also our own sense of who we really are and the altered relationship that still continues. This calls for a particular kind of deep listening and care. Contemplating illness, death and dying or experiencing grief and loss are unique to the individual, whatever similarities or many models that offer broad explanation. I work alongside each client with regard to their individual circumstances and relationships, and have been witness to the relief that can result from straightforward but compassionate accompaniment.I am based in the UK and work in person and also online, wherever you are in the world. Most of my clients come to me through referral and there is currently a short waitlist but please get in touch if you would like to explore working together and to check availability.Get in touch

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