Grief Counseling

the human experience of bereavement

You may have lost a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a child. You may have been prepared for this loss, or perhaps it was sudden and unexpected. It may have been someone you loved dearly, or you may have had a strained relationship with them.

Whatever the case may be, the bereavement process is painful and disorienting. One minute you think you’ve accepted your loss, the next you’re back to the crying and the yearning. You feel like you’ve reached the depths of despair, then you feel numb to everything. You accept that death is part of life, then you find yourself struggling to believe they’re actually gone. Feelings come rushing at you, wave after wave: sadness, anger, guilt, yearning, fear, anxiety, total numbness, and then it starts all over again. 

This is all part of the human experience of bereavement. 

Thankfully, there are some things that help us through these difficult times: we can draw comfort from friends and family, from our faith or spiritual beliefs, or from activities that give purpose and meaning to our lives.  With time, care and support we begin to feel that we are healing from our loss.

when should you seek treatment?

Although people tend to recover from a loss with time and support from loved ones, some find that they really struggle to cope with overwhelming sensations or may feel that they are stuck and unable to move forward.

In these cases a caring, attentive and experienced mental-health professional can help.

Below are some of the signs that you may benefit from extra support. If this is your case, you can reach out and I can help you through the grief process.

1. You are struggling with certain thoughts or feelings, such as:

• Overwhelming emotional pain

• Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness

• Persistent and intrusive thoughts about illness, accidents and/or death

• Increased Anxiety 

• Panic Attacks

• Unrelenting Depression

• Lack of energy and motivation

• Persistent worries about your loved ones

• Thoughts that your life is meaningless

• Increased irritability 

• Confusion about who you are

• Uncertainty about your place in the world

• Feelings of worthlessness

• Suicidal thoughts

2. You or the people around you are concerned because your behaviour has changed in one or more of the following ways:

• You go to familiar places hoping to see your loved one

• You avoid people or places that remind you of the departed

• You have started to drink more and/or have turned to addictive behaviour, such as gambling or taking drugs.

• You have stopped looking after yourself.

• You frequently get angry at people

• You are increasingly withdrawing from social interactions

If you are experiencing any of the above, you should not have to struggle alone.

If you feel you need more support, or if the people who care about you have suggested you speak to a counsellor, I am here to listen and help you through this difficult moment. 

You can start by getting in touch with me, or read more to find out how grief counselling can help you.

grief counseling

The key to effective grief counselling is to take things at a pace that feels right for you. We don’t have to focus on any particular subject – together we can decide what’s important for you to talk about and what you feel you need to process. 

If you want to talk about how much you miss the person you’ve lost, you can tell me all about that. On the other hand, if you don’t want to talk about them at all, that’s ok too – perhaps even mentioning their name feels too painful or intense, so we can start with something else: when you are ready to talk about the more painful parts of your experience, I’ll be there to listen and I’ll help you move past the pain.

In grief therapy,  the issues that are usually addressed are:

• Coping with intense or complex thoughts and emotions

• Ensuring you are looking after yourself and your needs

• Discussing how you can help your children understand and cope with the loss

• Getting to a point where you can talk about and remember the person who is gone without feeling overwhelmed by emotions

• Processing any unresolved issues you may have had with the departed

• Finding new meaning and purpose in life

• Accepting the unfairness of your loss

• Managing anxieties surrounding illness, death and dying

• Making difficult decisions about what has been left behind

• Managing any conflicts that may have emerged among your family members

• Figuring out what “moving on” looks like for you

Achieving acceptance and meaning

It is possible to heal from the pain and devastation of losing a loved one. If you are struggling to cope with intense emotions, persistent negative thoughts, and feel unable to motivate yourself to deal with life, now is the time to reach out.

FInd out more about Emotional Wellbeing

You can join one of my Mental Wellbeing Workshops to learn ways to strengthen your resilience and emotional wellbeing as you cope with your loss in the context of a supportive group.

To stay up-to-date on Mental Wellbeing initiatives, you can follow me on Social Media by checking out the links below.