Grief arrived early in my life, and in many ways, it has shaped everything that followed.

The death of someone we love changes us. It cracks us open, shifts our identity, and leaves us trying to make sense of a world that suddenly feels unfamiliar. I understand this not only as a grief counsellor and palliative care social worker, but as a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and woman who has walked through profound personal loss.

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I’m Erin Walter (McInnis), a Registered Social Worker providing grief counselling, palliative care support, mental health counselling, and virtual therapy for adults and teens across Ontario.

For more than 25 years, I have had the privilege of supporting individuals and families through some of the most painful, uncertain, and life-altering moments they will ever face.

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My work focuses on grief and bereavement, end-of-life care, anxiety, caregiver stress, trauma, loss, life transitions, and emotional overwhelm. I support people navigating anticipatory grief, the death of a loved one whether it's a parent, sibling, child or loved one, a serious illness, relationship loss, burnout, and the quiet loneliness that can come when life no longer feels like the one you once knew.

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I am a registered member of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) and the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW). I also hold an Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Work Certification (APHSW-C), a designation held by only a small number of professionals in Canada.

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Based in Arnprior, Ontario in the Ottawa Valley, I offer in-person palliative care support locally and virtual counselling across Ontario. My approach is warm, compassionate, grounded, and deeply human. I do not believe healing comes from quick fixes or surface-level advice. I believe in honest conversations, meaningful connection, and creating a space where people feel safe enough to tell the truth about what hurts.

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In November 2023, my life changed forever when my son, Owyn, was killed in a car accident while attending Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, where he played varsity volleyball for TRU.

There are no words for this kind of heartbreak. Living through the loss of a child has deepened not only my understanding of grief, but my understanding of what it means to survive the unimaginable and continue forward one breath at a time. Time does not heal, you learn to grow with your grief.

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Alongside my daughter Brielle, I continue to choose love, connection, community, and resiliency, even on the hardest days. I know firsthand that grief is not something we “get over.” It becomes part of us, and learning how to carry it takes support, compassion, and time.

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Counselling with me is not about pretending everything is okay. It is about being seen. It is about having a place where you do not need to minimize your pain, explain your tears, or carry the weight alone.

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Whether you are grieving a death, supporting a loved one through illness, struggling with anxiety, feeling emotionally exhausted, or trying to rebuild after loss, you do not have to navigate it alone.

When you are ready, I would be honoured to walk alongside you.