What happens when everything you learned in graduate school about grief contradicts what you experienced in real life? Eliezer Moreno, grief and loss therapist in Vancouver, shares the powerful story of losing his friend Ryan shortly after learning "all the right things" about supporting people in grief—only to find himself confused, lonely, and unable to cry at the memorial. This conversation explores how his grandmother's nursing legacy, hospice volunteering, and personal loss shaped a practice that rejects pathologizing grief and instead walks alongside people in their messy, non-linear healing.
What You'll Learn:
+ Why the hospice model of "companioning" differs radically from clinical training's pathologizing approach
+ How losing a friend shortly after grief training revealed the gap between theory and lived experience
+ The physical manifestations of grief that aren't talked about enough
+ Why disenfranchised grief keeps people stuck and how to validate every type of loss
+ The power of saying "I don't know what to say" instead of trying to fix or solve
+ How to build a grief therapy practice that honours mess over models
+ Why YouTube and email marketing are essential for grief therapists in 2025
+ The one-to-many service model that extends your impact beyond the therapy room
Key Topics Discussed:
+ Eliezer's journey: grandmother's nursing legacy in the Philippines → care aide work → collecting stories from clients
+ The shift from practical care to therapeutic presence (noticing photos on walls, asking about people's lives)
+ Social work training: learning modalities and clinical interventions focused on pathology
+ Hospice volunteering: discovering the "companioning" model that honours grief as natural, not broken
+ The contrast: graduate school taught five-stage model (Kübler-Ross) in one paragraph; hospice taught complexity
+ 2017: losing friend Ryan shortly after 10-year high school reunion
+ The loneliness of being the only one not crying while surrounded by grieving people
+ Disenfranchised grief: losses that aren't socially recognized or validated
+ The pressure to "get over it" after arbitrary timelines (6 months, 1 year)
+ Why grief isn't linear and models can be more harmful than helpful
+ Supporting LGBTQ2S+ folks in grief (chosen family, complicated relationships with biological family)
+ Lessons from Full Practice Formula program (first cohort member)
+ Current challenge: wanting to create YouTube content but feeling overwhelmed
+ Cecilia's coaching: breaking YouTube into manageable steps (pick topic → record video → create 5-min clip → distribute)
+ Email list strategy: nurturing relationships through resources and video content
Mentioned in This Episode:
+ Eliezer's Grandmother - Nurse from the Philippines, came to Canada in the 1960s, inspired Eliezer's helping profession path
+ Hospice Volunteering - Where Eliezer learned the "companioning" model vs. pathologizing approach
+ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross - Five-stage grief model taught in graduate school
+ Disenfranchised Grief - Losses not socially recognized (friendship loss, non-death losses, ambiguous loss)
+ Full Practice Formula Program - Cecilia's program, Eliezer was first cohort member
+ Jane App - Practice management software where Eliezer has email permission but hasn't launched list yet
+ Meaningful Counselling - Eliezer's practice serving Surrey, Coquitlam, and online in BC
The Physical Reality of Grief:
Eliezer shares his personal experience of physical grief symptoms many people don't talk about: jaw clenching at night, body tension, the confusion of not crying when "supposed to." This vulnerability normalizes the non-linear, embodied nature of grief that doesn't fit textbook models.
Disenfranchised Grief Explained:
Losses that aren't socially recognized or validated: friendship loss, pet loss, miscarriage, job loss, loss of what could have been, ambiguous loss (person is alive but relationship has ended), moving away from homeland, chosen family loss. These griefs are just as real but often dismissed by society's narrow definition of "legitimate" loss.
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ABOUT YOUR HOST:
Cecilia Mannella is a leadership coach for therapists and wellness practice owners with 25 years as a mental health practitioner and 17+ years building her group practice from solo therapist to seven-figure success. She created the Full Practice Formula program to help therapists build sustainable, visible practices—and Eliezer was a member of the very first cohort.
Connect with Cecilia:
Website: https://www.ceciliamannella.com/
This Episode: https://www.ceciliamannella.com/purpose-and-profit-podcast
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ABOUT THE GUEST:
Eliezer Moreno, MSW, RSW (pronounced Ella-zar, he/him) is a Registered Social Worker with a mission to help people to live without letting go. After 15 years of working in palliative care, hospice, and grief, he launched his private practice, Meaningful Counselling, in 2024, serving Surrey, Coquitlam, and online in BC. His approach is grounded in the hospice model of "companioning"—walking alongside people in their grief rather than trying to fix or pathologize their experience. He's passionate about expanding the conversation around grief to include non-death losses, LGBTQ2S+ experiences, immigrant grief, and the messy, non-linear reality that doesn't fit into stage models.
Connect with Eliezer:
Website: https://www.meaningfulcounselling.ca/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliezer-moreno-msw-rsw-556317118
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@meaningfulgrief
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