Grief & Bereavement Counseling
Grief Counseling: Finding Support Through Loss
Every grieving experience is different. A person may be able to continue their day-to-day routine after one loss, yet not be able to get out of bed after the loss of someone else. Whatever your personal symptoms are, grief and bereavement counseling have been proven to help.
The death of a loved one is one of life's most difficult experiences. The grief that comes with profound loss can feel overwhelming and all-consuming. During this painful time, grief counseling offers professional support to help you process the complex emotions surrounding your bereavement.
What is Grief Counseling?
Grief counseling provides a safe, therapeutic environment to work through the feelings of loss, sadness, anger, guilt and yearning that often accompany grief. A counselor trained in grief therapy can help you understand and cope with the physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, social and philosophical effects of bereavement.
The grief process is deeply personal and manifests itself in different ways for each individual. Counselors use various therapeutic approaches to meet you where you are in your unique grieving journey. Through open discussions, counseling sessions aim to facilitate healing by providing tools and perspectives to find acceptance and adjust to life without your loved one.
Benefits of Grief Counseling
While grief is a natural human response to loss, the heaviness of these feelings can become debilitating without proper support. Grief counseling offers many potential benefits, including:
- A compassionate, judgment-free space to express emotions openly
- Healthy coping strategies to work through the grief process
- Techniques to manage overwhelming feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger and depression
- Perspective to process complicated grief reactions like relief, numbness or guilt
- Tools for adjusting to a new sense of normal and "moving on"
- Help establishing a continued bond with the deceased in a healthy way
- Guidance for taking care of yourself through self-care
Grief and bereavement aren’t light-hearted topics. Bereavement refers to the process of recovering from the death of a loved one, and grief is a reaction to any form of loss. Both encompass a wide range of emotions such as fear, anger, and deep, deep sadness.
The process of adapting to a loss can dramatically change from person to person, depending on his or her background, beliefs, relationship to the person who’s passed, and other factors.
If you've experienced the profound loss of a loved one, grief counseling can make a positive difference in learning to live with your grief. Don't hesitate to seek professional support during this tremendously challenging time.