Grief

I have spent the last 8 years writing about: my grief story, trauma, my own mental health, and more to help others. I have talked privately with thousands of women and men from all over the globe about their life struggles. I have held hands via my words with people on the worst days of their lives and stood by them with my support and love when they rise up out of their deep suffering.

I am a Certified Grief Support Specialist.

I am well versed professionally and personally in: trauma healing, anxiety/depression/fear/grief from suicide loss, how to navigate being newly widowed, grief from the loss of a loved one, finding joy and hope after a life storm, rebuilding your life after loss, navigating grief and mental wellness from sensorineural hearing loss, and suicide trauma specific healing.

Get warm, loving support from someone who is both professional and a human being who has experienced deep grief, loss, and trauma. I am a certified coach who is here to help you sort through your struggles, make a plan, and live forward with grace. I can teach you how to navigate through anxiety, stress, and overwhelm in your everyday life. I can guide you on how to live your life from a place of grounded authenticity. My highly intuitive nature knows how to cater my loving guidance and teachings specifically to you and your personality and beliefs.

I have deep compassion, empathy, and love for everybody.....always.

I am open with you about the many losses in my own life: My grandma died 2 days after my first wedding-she had a stroke days before the wedding and couldn't be there and it broke my heart, my dear uncle that was like a Dad to me died from a fire accident when I was 5 months pregnant with my first baby-I gave the eulogy at his funeral-my first experience with comforting grievers while I too was grieving, my first husband that I was with from age 23 to almost 36 died by suicide and this catapulted me into going back to school to learn grief counseling, my dear grandpa (one of my best friends on earth) died from natural causes at the age of 90: 3 years ago-I sat at his bedside and helped him die peacefully surrounded by love and family, my beloved dog of 16 years died in my home last winter-she was my best friend and my rock during many griefs and joys in my life.

I can help walk you through your grief.
I am not here to fix you or heal you or make you feel 100% better. No one can truly do that for us. Healing comes from within. I’m here to teach you, nudge you, inform you, and wrap you in compassion and hope.

I am here to give you my extensive knowledge, support, and compassion.

“You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp”-Anne Lamott

Grief is not an illness that needs recovery. Grief is love and we learn to carry it, accept it, heal parts of it, and honor it. Our grief needs compassion, community, and a place where it is heard. Time doesn't heal all wounds but in time you can learn ways to comfort your grieving heart.

We build our lives around our grief and some people carry their grief for a lifetime and some believe they heal it fully. It's a very personal thing unique to each loss and each human being.

I am open with you about the many losses in my own life. So many people are not looking for someone who can counsel them in their grief but does not share their personal grief story(s).

Grief is soothed through story telling and sharing of wounds. It's hard to soak in the support of someone who sits across from you trying to "fix you". It can feel cold. Let me offer you warmth with support that is from a person who is both: griever and professional.

"At the heart of real intimacy is a certain vulnerability. It is hard to trust someone with your vulnerability unless you can see in them a matching vulnerability and know that you will not be judged. In some basic way it is our imperfections and even our pain that draws others close to us."

Your stories and your words are safe with me. Do something good and loving for yourself. You deeply deserve it.

Warmth & blessings,

Nikki Bonkoski
-Certified Grief Support Specialist
Rosemount, MN

I offer email/text, phone (call or video), and in-person support.
In person support can be a location of your choice (indoor or outdoor) and I also offer grief walks/hikes.

Topics people like to chat with me about over the years: Widowhood, loss, grief, depression/anxiety, moving forward, overcoming trauma, following their calling, rising above, healing from suicide loss, building self-confidence, remarriage after being widowed, restoring their faith in God, abandonment wounds, starting over, building a new life, hearing loss/single sided deafness, solo parenting, and more.

Contact me for current prices on my services.

*No one will be turned away if they cannot afford to pay.

Email support (1-2 emails back and forth between me and you) is always FREE.

(this is different than my monthly email/text program)

Support can be gifted to a loved one.
This is a wonderful gift in place of flowers or other when someone first looses a loved one.
Gift certificates never expire.
Ages 18 and up only please. I do not offer support to minors for safety reasons.

You can pay via personal check, cash, PayPal, Venmo, Credit Card, Apple Pay.

*note: I cannot accept your insurance**

Contact me here or on the form below if you're interested: niktebbe@gmail.com

POLICIES & PRACTICES

Phone Sessions are 60 minutes. In person sessions are 90 minutes. Email sessions are one-month-at-a-time (5 days a week)
Sessions can be purchased individually or in packages
Discounts may apply for packages
Clients give me 24 hours notice if they have to cancel or reschedule a call/meeting or the session will be billed in full. If you have an emergency, we will work together to figure out a new time.
Coaching sessions (phone/in person/email) are completely confidential. I never share what you talk to me about with anyone-ever.
I am a life coach, spiritual mentor, and certified grief support specialist, not a therapist or physician. Coaching is not a substitute for therapy or medical advice.

Reviews on my work:

"You are such a blessing to others Nik. If you are struggling with your grief, I would highly recommend Nik!!"

“That would be money well spent. Help just when you need it. Not everyone likes zoom or to put themselves out there, so I think this would be ideal, plus the emails could be kept and reread. You are a blessing Nik, a beautiful soul.”

"Thank you for being you, you help so much more than you will ever know I am finally happy with a wonderful fiance and new job. I felt so hopeless at times. You normalized sadness when everyone wanted me quiet."

"What a true legacy and a public service you are doing, Nik..unfortunately out of your own pain you have found strength and have placed in the mind of others to seek help . I applaud you . Well done. What you do is not easy but you do it anyway."

"You are so awesome at what you do. I have never seen a person with such depth of caring and compassionate feelings towards others with this entire subject of grieving and loss. You are a gem in a dark world for many and you are blessed with the gifts of wisdom and understanding to help spread hope like you do."