Pat Sheveland is a Certified Life Coach and the founder of Healing Family Grief
She began her career as a registered nurse and later pursued certification as a life coach through the International Coaching Federation. This decision led her into the field of grief coaching, where she initially specialized in supporting grieving parents as they navigated life after the death of a child.
Through her professional training and lived experience, Pat brings a distinctive and deeply informed perspective to child loss. Over time, her work has expanded to include many forms of profound loss, including death, divorce, estrangement, complex family relationships, and the emotional demands of caregiving.
She has become a recognized voice not only in child loss bereavement, but in supporting individuals and families facing deep relational and life transitions.
As the daughter of parents who experienced child loss before her birth, Pat grew up in a home where her brother’s death was never openly acknowledged. She later coined the phrase “failed grief” to describe the long-term impact of unspoken loss and unresolved sorrow she witnessed within her family.
After working closely with her mother to uncover and release decades of unexpressed grief, Pat spent the following years supporting bereaved mothers through intensive one-on-one grief coaching. Through this work, she observed clear patterns among those who were able not only to survive their loss, but to live fully again. These individuals learned how grief and sadness could coexist with peace, connection, and a renewed sense of purpose.
The Certified Grief Coach and B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Coaching Model for Grief™ program was created in response to this work. It was designed to provide structured, compassionate support for those navigating grief and to equip future grief coaches with a clear, ethical framework for guiding others toward lives grounded in meaning and care.
