What type of counseling is needed when a person cannot get over the grief of losing a loved one?
Grief and loss counseling helps people grieve difficult losses including the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. It helps people navigate their grief process and eventually accept, understand, and move forward from their loss. Thriveworks grief therapists in Amherst, MA have specific experience, training, and skills that enable them to best support grieving individuals.
How does grief and loss counseling work?
Grief and loss counseling isn’t one-size-fits-all, but it involves sharing about your loss and then working with your counselor to acknowledge and accept your new reality in its wake. Your provider at Thriveworks in Amherst, MA will design your treatment plan around your unique needs and goals for therapy, applying the counseling techniques that best support them.
Signs I should seek grief counseling
If you have recently experienced an event like the death of a loved one, a breakup or divorce, the loss of a job, or another major life change, then you may want to seek grief and loss counseling. Grief can be caused by many experiences and events, so if you feel that you are having trouble moving on from a certain event or find that it is still impacting your life and functioning, grief and loss counseling can help you process it more effectively so that you can move on and once again find fulfillment and satisfaction in your life.
What counseling theory is best for grief?
There are many counseling theories for treating grief, one of the most frequently used being the dual process model of grief which helps people acknowledge who or what they’ve lost through rumination while also adjusting to the new roles and identities that this loss has now placed on them. There are also many commonly used therapy approaches used in grief and loss counseling, including Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and traumatic grief therapy.
Is grief counseling conducted in person or online?
Grief & loss counseling at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and online by video. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
How long does grief counseling last?
For many, grief and loss counseling lasts for about 6 months. For others, it may last shorter or longer, depending on the severity of their loss and their grief.
Need more help deciding?
Grief Counseling and Therapy in Amherst, MA—Help for people who have experienced loss
When someone you love passes away, the sense of loss can be devastating. It can often feel like there is a deep void inside of you, as if part of you is missing or ripped away. You feel like things will never be the same again and often you feel as if you can’t go on. At times like these, it is helpful to talk to a trained bereavement therapist or counselor who can instill hope and provide ways to cope with the pain of loss. The grief therapists and counselors at Thriveworks Amherst (413-634-4805) can provide the support you need.
An experienced grief and bereavement counselor or therapist will help you develop a strategy to deal with changes to everyday living that results from losing someone close to us. These therapists have the training to design an approach that suits your situation and needs.
Negative Effects of Grief and Loss
Researchers have identified several negative outcomes that can be triggered by grief and bereavement:
- Shock,
- Denial,
- Fear,
- Panic attacks,
- Confusion,
- Losing track of time
- Disbelief,
- Feeling out of control,
- Irrational thoughts
- Despair,
- Helpless,
- Hopelessness,
- Difficulty sleeping and eating,
- Obsessive and compulsive thoughts and actions.
A trained bereavement or grief therapist will understand the importance that culture and family heritage has on how an individual experiences death and loss. A skilled therapist and counselor will not only take this into account when assessing the impact that loss has had on someone but will understand the importance of one’s support system in helping the person transition through the grieving process.
Different Reactions to Grief
But grieving can also be a highly personal matter with each individual experiencing the grief process in their particular way. Emotions are often expressed differently by different people. One person may withdraw from their friends and family resulting in separation from the lifelines that can actually help them. This can compound the sense of loss and grief.
However, others will may be filled with anger and manifest that anger overtly. This may be triggered by a sense that “something needs to be done”. This is often how people respond to the sense of helplessness that results from grief. However, our judgement and decision making can be distorted by emotional unrest. Without support by a trained therapist or counselor, the actions we choose under such conditions may actually exasperate our grief or sense of loss.
Work with a Grief Counselor at Thriveworks Amherst
If you have experienced tragic loss resulting in grief, a bereavement therapist or counselor at Thriveworks Amherst can help you learn to cope with that loss and continue to live a fruitful life. A therapist at Thriveworks Amherst can help you develop a plan and give the support needed to implement that plan. So take the first step and make an appointment to see a Thriveworks Amherst Therapist by calling 413-634-4805. They care and they can help!
