ABOUT CARLEY
I didn’t set out to become a grief coach.
Like most of us who end up here, it started with loss.
A question every griever gets asked repeatedly:
"What happened?"
Early, on a quiet summer morning in 2019, my husband kissed me goodbye and left for work - doing what he loved, helping others experience the thrill of skydiving. As skydivers, we'd often joke and say it was 'more dangerous driving to the drop zone than jumping from a perfectly good plane'. He drove just 500 metres down the road, when he suddenly collided with a fallen tree. It happened so close to home that the police actually walked to our gate to inform me. After years of adventure and thousands of professional skydives - he died in our car, on our own road. And everything changed.
When someone you love dies, it can feel as though your world has obliterated beyond recognition.
How can one live through such devastation? How do you find words for your children when you can barely breathe?
Over time, the dust begins to settle. Traces of colour start to return - small reminders that life still exists beyond the wreckage. You look around at what remains and quietly ask,
Who am I now? What now?
I searched for answers, meaning, and understanding. I knew I was in shock, and the fear of allowing myself to feel the full weight of grief was overwhelming.
What I needed (wasn’t advice or empty platitudes) - someone who understood. Someone who could sit with the rawness without trying to fix it.
That kind of authentic support was hard to find beyond a few close friends. So I began learning to create it - first for myself and my kids, and now, for you and all who grieve.
My husband and I sharing a kiss
in the sky - 2011
Greeting Daddy after landing
- 2015
Turning Pain Into Purpose
As I learned more about trauma, recovery, and emotional resilience, I realised something powerful - grief isn’t something to “get over.” It’s something we learn to carry.
That realisation led me to train as a Professional Recovery Coach and Trauma-Informed Coach, blending my lived experience with professional frameworks to help others find their footing after loss, find meaning, hope and glimmers of joy.
Since 2021 I have supported many grievers - widows, widowers, parents, children, siblings, grandchildren, friends and individuals navigating life after significant change and upheaval - to find meaning, rediscover small joys, and rebuild life around their love and loss.
I’m now furthering my study with a Diploma of Counselling (specialising in Grief & Loss, Relationships, and Children & Adolescents) to deepen the services I can offer.
My Coaching Approach
Every coaching conversation is unique, just like every story of loss.
Together, we work gently at your pace, wherever you are in your grief journey.
I can help you:
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unpack the 'heavy stuff',
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explore what feels possible, and
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begin shaping life after loss in ways that honour both your love and your pain.
You won’t be told to “move on” or “get over it.”
You will be supported to feel, question, reflect, and grow - with compassion and without judgement.
I don’t believe in “shoulds” or timelines for grief.
Our sessions are client-led, that means you bring what feels most present, and together we explore ways to move from stuckness toward freedom, purpose, and peace.
Sometimes that looks like releasing guilt, frustration or anger.
Sometimes it’s 'learning to walk' again.
Sometimes it’s rediscovering what joy feels like.
Wherever you are, I’ll meet you there - with honesty, compassion, hope and respect.
Credentials
Certified Professional Recovery & Wellness Coach
The Ubuntu International Academy of Coaching
Certified Trauma-Informed Coach
The Centre for Healing
Certified Mental Health Awareness Online
Praesidium Risk and Resilience
Diploma of Counselling
Study Majors in Grief and Loss, Relationships, Children and Adolescents
AIPC - Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (undergrad - currently studying)
Group & Peer Support Facilitator
Founder of Grief Tides
30+ years’ professional experience in communications,
mentoring, art and marketing
A little more about me
Outside of grief coaching, I work part-time in marketing playing with words and graphics.
I'm building my Grief Tides business - a holistic approach to supporting grievers and their supporters. (Stay tuned for a Grief Companion App coming in 2027!)
I’m Mum to amazing humans and Gigi to a little one who brings us all much joy, fills our 'heart' cups every day. Relationships have taught me more about love, loss, and resilience than any textbook ever could.
I’m energised by the ocean, art, and music, and find peace in creating spaces where people feel seen, accepted and understood.
I believe healing unfolds in small, unexpected moments - in stories shared, tears witnessed, milk spilt and real, honest conversations. It’s in those moments of pain and hope that we remember: we’re still here, still alive.
