In the last 4.5 years I have lost 8 people to death. Four of them were very close to me, especially one person in particular. Also four of these people were under the age of 35 due to suicides and car accidents.

Being a Life Coach and wellness councillor myself, and therefore very passionate about mental healthcare, I started to realise that this was too much for me to process all on my own.

The shock and trauma started to derail my inner thoughts and behaviour and I realised that I needed help. Not in normal counselling, but someone that specialises in grief counselling.

I discovered Astro on the internet and reading her story I decided to take a chance. That was the best decision of my life. Not knowing what to expect, Astro took me on a journey of my life and all the losses I experienced. Her warm personality, compassion and guidance made the process not just about my loss, but a journey of self-discovery and immense personal growth.

Astro’s empathy, understanding and listening skills are outstanding and I felt safe through our whole journey. I loved that she gave me tools to use whenever I might need it for the future.

I will refer my clients and family that are going through a grieving process with absolute confidence and trust to her.

Thank you, Astro, for enriching my life with your wisdom and authentic personality and knowledge. The sadness stays with us, but you taught me how to grow around it. The tear of remembrance is now with a warmth, healing and inner peace.

My wife and best friend passed away in January 2021. I was absolutely devastated. I did not believe I would ever recover from this sad loss.

To try and assist me my daughter did some online searching and found Astro. At my first online meeting with her I realised that she has an excellent understanding of bereavement and showed wonderful warm compassion.

From the outset she made it clear that grief does not get less or go away; we just learn to rebuild our lives around it. The step-by-step journey was amazing, and Astro was there to gently guide me through the process.

As each week went by, I felt more and more in control of my life and emotions. A few weeks ago, we came to the end of a very enlightening and rewarding journey. I am coping very well now and whilst I still miss my wife enormously and have moments of sadness, I am well equipped to begin my new journey.

Thank you Astro, you are an amazing angel and I will be forever grateful for what you have taught me.

I met Astro about 6 weeks after my wife passed away. I had been married for 40 years, and the difficulty of coming to terms with this tremendous loss in my life made me realise that I needed help.

Reading about Astro’s background, I decided that because she has also experienced a tremendous loss in her life, she would be well positioned to assist me. And, I was correct.

From our first session, we embarked upon a journey that was at times extremely difficult for me. I was comfortable throughout the process that there was real empathy and understanding from Astro’s side.

She held my hand and my emotions and never became directive. She made me aware all the time that the answers I was seeking, or the healing I was hoping for, would come from within.

I can only say “Thank you Astro” when I needed help desperately. You came into my life with your professionalism and kindness. I know my new journey has just begun, but with what you have transferred to me during our sessions, the journey will continue much easier.

The experience of working with Astro on old hurts and the learning that has come from the process of letting go of my excess baggage has been such a gift.

Thank you Astro for raising my awareness and guiding me through these learnings. I am now living in the moment and enjoying all the positives in my life.

I recommend this process to all who might be carrying hurts and sadness, it is healing and uplifting.

I chose to embark on a journey of self-discovery with Astro. I was at a place in my life where I just knew that there was so much more potential in me, but I was unable to access it.

Astro has this lovely way of making one feel safe and she was strong and supportive when holding all emotions that came up for me. This enabled me to look at parts of myself I would usually choose to ignore.

Exploring myself and my beliefs and looking at them from a part of me that is intuitive and wise are but a few of the hugely empowering tools to come from this process.

I came from a place of uncertainty into a wonderfully liberated world of knowing exactly who I am, and even better, that I deserve to explore every aspect of my potential and to love being alive.

I believe that my process with Astro at Blue Kites was one of the biggest gifts in my life.

I sought assistance from Astro at a time when I found myself at a crossroads, unfocussed, lacking confidence and immobilized. Two months and eight sessions later, I feel quite the opposite.

Astro is a great coach. Her gentle, open and non-judgemental approach made me very comfortable and made it easy to share.

The process is seemingly unstructured, yet one finally leaves the sessions feeling that it has evolved and created its own structure that ultimately achieved the desired outcome.

I feel empowered. This has been an amazing journey. Thank you.

Thank you again for the time and value that you have added to my life. It was a great experience and I truly feel that I have grown personally as a result.

Thank you for providing a space in which I was challenged, upheld and contained. I truly appreciate it.

Completing the Grief Coaching course with Astro is like finally being able to close the door and settle the soul.

It feels like I can move on with my life with respect for my past but with joy and excitement for what is still to come. The weight on the holding ropes of my heart has been lifted and there is finally a peace about the process of loss.

I remember walking to your office with limited expectation. I vividly remember you welcoming me with a broad smile.

I recall being teary in the beginning, fearful to outpour to a stranger what was confusion and pain of loss.

I only have this to say: a journey travelled to closure — recovery.

Thank you for professionally engaging me towards recovery. Indeed, when I changed the way I saw things, everything around me changed.

To me, my kids, my family and all around me, I am a better person free from self-blame.

I contacted Astro with the hope of getting out of a tight spiral I had myself in — self-perpetuating thoughts of limitation and resistance to change.

Each and every minute with Astro was meaningfully valuable to me. I am no longer so sensitive to intimidation or afraid that I may be misunderstood.

Now I can look around and recognize bountiful resources available, the richness of my life, and the regained confidence in my own abilities.

Astro’s time-line visualization practice allowed me to see with a true perspective, the past events which impeded my progress.

Becoming empowered to me now means to communicate with maturity, equality, control and positivity — fearlessly. I have never been stronger. Life is brighter and much more enjoyable.

In order to achieve maximum outcome with limited time and resources, there was a need for detailed planning and strategizing.

Astro was very attentive to the needs of the organization and its employees. She developed an extraordinary plan which included physical activities, role playing and in-depth discussions.

The workshops suited our requirements perfectly, were very well received by the teams and the results were immediate.

Astro is a strong facilitator who is able to lead a group to deeper understanding; she encourages them to act and to reach the individual’s potential.

Her contribution to our organization will not be forgotten and we will be happy to use her services again in future.

Dearest Astro, I don’t know where to start. Maybe I should start by thanking the Highest Powers for aligning you in my path to assist in quieting the loud noise that was ruling in my head.

I came to you like a broken vase. In the past couple of months you have assisted me in mending this vase into becoming the most beautiful vase. Though the cracks are still there, the vase can hold water and flowers.

I’m grateful for your guidance into my journey. The loud chatter has tremendously slowed down. I’m starting to understand how it feels to experience peace of mind and to learn to be in charge of the inner me and understand living in the now.

I have started a relationship with myself and I’m loving every bit of it. Thank you for guiding me into the deep dark places where I never dared to step — what a relief.

Thank you for having the confidence in me that I can fly on my own.

On the 17th November 2013, 90 members of the Democratic Alliance Johannesburg Caucus embarked on a two day workshop. The facilitation was headed up by Astro Zack-Dishon.

Astro had come highly recommended by another facilitator and due to unforeseen circumstances we only had a limited time in which to prepare for this all-important breakaway.

With a specific brief and an initial brief meeting, Astro was able to design an entire program that did not only achieve tangible results but way more than that within the limit of two days.

Astro brings a range of specialist skills that not only make her a competent facilitator, consultant and strategist but a productive team player on the day.

Based on my own personal experience and the feedback from the caucus I would gladly recommend Astro for your next workshop, strategy session or team-building session.