We recently connected with Serena Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Serena, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

I had just suffered the most devastating loss of my entire life… my mom suddenly died of a heart attack and I was left with a shattered heart and life. My husband and our four sons were fragile and I, usually the strong one, didn’t have the words to bring hope to my broken family. My youngest son, Rayden, began to cry every night at bed time for 30 days straight. He couldn’t comprehend why his grandmother had to die and leave him without saying goodbye. All I could do was cry with him, yet my heart longed for some answers to help him and my other sons navigate through this valley of grief. That’s when my journey began! What started off as a massive google search, multiple podcast subscriptions, and YouTube videos all for the words “Grief Support”-ended with my answer. I knew I needed to educate myself on how to help my grieving family and so I decided to go back to school to become a Certified Grief Counselor. I never envisioned running a Grief Counseling business…I only wanted to help my family in their broken state. This was one of the most significant decisions I have ever made. It not only changed my life and my family’s life, but has now impacted countless others who were stuck in their sorrow. I have personally discovered what hope and healing looks like and am now an advocate for others to experience the same!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Serena Johnson and I am a Certified Grief Counselor GC-C. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Eastern University. I am the visionary and CEO of Robin’s Cove Counseling Services LLC.

My desire is to see my clients find hope and healing in their grief journey, just as I have. I know what it’s like to walk through the hard lonely places of grief.

I, under Robin’s Cove, consult with children, adults and families seeking grief support, as well as facilitate group counseling services. I currently coordinate and facilitate Griefshare Support Groups for my local church, Deeper Fellowship Church in Orlando, Florida. Within this role I educate, support and help members of the program navigate through their grief in a 13 week course.

In addition, I personally have created a 6-week Grief Support called Hope & Healing which is designed to address grief needs due to loss. Hope & Healing has been instrumental in helping my clients face and process their grief, learn coping skills, find encouragement and regain strength in order to be able to reinvest in their lives again. This process is done within a community of others who know what it’s like to experience a loss. I am a beneficiary of supports groups as they helped me find tremendous support, relief and encouragement in my own grief journey.

​I, too, have had to walk through the hard mountains and valleys of grief. My amazing mother died unexpectedly in September of 2019, and I was there to watch her take her last breath. It was the worst day of my life and I found myself heart broken, disappointed with God, angry and filled with pain. I had a choice to make, choose life or choose to live out the rest of my days in pain & sorrow. I have a healed heart today and it didn’t happen over night. I chose life but that meant acknowledging and processing my pain, dealing with my grief, learning to live life without my mom, and finding ways to honor her while re-investing in my life again. It wasn’t easy, but I am a witness that healing is possible. In honor of my mother, I named my business after her.. Robin :)

In my spare time I enjoy taking beautiful Florida beach days, drinking herbal teas and going to Disney with my husband and sons. I enjoy traveling with my family and discovering new adventures as I homeschool my four sons.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In my grief journey I have learned that Strong is OVERATED! I was what you would of considered ” Strong!” “Indepedent!” “Go-Getter!”.

Our society teaches us that big girls don’t cry and not to let people see you weak. but It takes a strong person to realize how weak they are. I had to allow myself to embrace the fact that I could not handle grief all on my own. My inability to ask for help only hurt me because it kept me from getting the love and support I needed. I was in denial for a long time! People would ask me how I was doing, and I would force a smile and say I”M FINE! When I was actually dying inside emotionally and hanging on by a thread. Who was I fooling? No one but myself. Sometimes it’s the “strong ones” that struggle the most to be honest, because we find it hard to make ourselves vulnerable enough to 1)feel the pain and/or 2)share with others that we are struggling. I say WE because I know I’m not the only one!
In my grief journey, I had to face the fact that it was okay not to be okay. I had to give myself permission to be sad because it’s a part of life. It’s normal to grieve and in order to process loss in a healthy way, I had to let myself feel the pain. In turning towards my true feelings, I was able to actually find relief and authentically embrace this journey.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I watched a movie called THE SHACK after my mom died and that movie spoke volumes to me in my grief! I immediately purchased the book so that I could take my time processing the story. The Shack is a novel about a character, Mack Phillips, who is suffering from a family tragedy. The story depicts his spiral into a deep depression that causes him to question his innermost beliefs. He begins facing a crisis of faith and is led to return to an abandoned shack where he must confront the pain of his young daughter’s brutal murder. Each page that I read gripped my heart further, and by the middle of the book most of the pages were stained with my tears. I found my own struggles in the characters’ sorrow, I found my own pain in his sorrow. I was blown away by the way that the author and movie director depicted raw grief. It wasn’t sugar coated, pretty or hidden, and it was needed. Our society portrays grief/depression as a quick journey of tears, sadness, a few sleepless nights, and then magically the sufferer resurfaces to be back to normal again. And that’s far from the truth. The beauty of this movie was that I got to watch this character actually navigate through his grief, and in the end find some relief and resolve. It gave me hope that it was possible!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.robinscove.com
• Instagram: robinscovecounseling
• Facebook: Robin’s Cove Counseling

Image Credits
Initial Headshot picture: Kayla Smith Photography * I was unable to load any additional pictures for some reason. I will instead send them by email to Eric Garcia