Rainbow Therapy Tools

A compassionate companion for when something - or someone - has gone

Grief doesn't follow rules.
It isn't tidy, linear, or predictable.
And it certainly isn't something you can do "right".

Rainbow Therapy Tools: A Gentle Guide to Grief and Loss is for anyone who is grieving and feels confused, overwhelmed, numb, stuck, or quietly wondering whether they're failing at something everyone else seems to manage.

This is not a book about fixing your grief, finding closure, or moving on.

It's a book about learning how to live alongside grief - with less shame, less pressure, and more compassion for what you're carrying.

Written in a warm, informal, and deeply human style, this guide meets you exactly where you are, whether your loss is recent or long-ago, visible or invisible, recognised or quietly held.

• Reassurance that grief is not a stage, a timeline, or a test

• Gentle explanations of what grief does to your body, brain, and nervous system

• Support for non-death losses such as breakups, estrangement, infertility, identity loss, health changes, pets, community, and safety

• Compassionate guidance for grief that feels overwhelming, complicated, or stuck

• Help navigating other people's reactions, boundaries, and the pressure to "cope"

• Space to explore identity changes and who you are after loss

• A gentle grief first aid plan for when things feel too much

• Reflection prompts and journalling questions in every chapter

• Suggested further reading that is accessible, non-academic, and varied

• LGBTQIA+ grief, including chosen family, invisibility, and disenfranchised loss

• Neurodivergent experiences of grief, including shutdown, overwhelm, and grief brain

• Trauma-informed care that prioritises safety, compassion, and nervous-system awareness

Grounded in an integrated therapeutic approach - drawing on person-centred therapy, compassion-focused therapy, mindfulness, and trauma-informed practice - this guide avoids jargon and focuses on what actually helps when you're grieving.

You don't need to read this book in order.
You don't need to do every exercise.
You don't need to feel hopeful to begin.

Take what helps. Leave what doesn't. Go gently.

If you're grieving and don't know how you're supposed to be doing this - you're not alone.

And you're not doing grief wrong.