What Is Grief Counseling And How Exactly Does It Work?

Family CounselingMarch 24, 2021

Humans can do a lot of things that animals can’t. Perhaps we are blessed to have a few greatest boons of mother nature, like the ability to think and to feel from our heart. Like every other human being, you too have some powerful emotions in you, grief is one of them. Being a social creature, you can feel the value of a bond with your dearest ones, and losing them perhaps make you realize the power of grief. Sometimes the pain makes you so numb that the whole world around you comes to a halt and a poignant feeling of distress reigns supreme. But it’s important to surge ahead amidst the most difficult hardships. A grief counselor can help you to rediscover the positive aspects of living once again to move forward.

Grief Counseling – What Is It?

When you’re taking a particular therapy, we would advise you to learn something about it. Not all psychological therapies are about lying on uncomfortable couches while the concealer scratching on a piece of paper to jot down your dilemmas. Grief therapy is the simple act of counseling where the counselor aids you accept the reality of the loss and act accordingly to get you back on track again. The main objective is to reduce mental health symptoms such as depression in the long run by helping you to find the meaning of life.

Accepting The Loss

Unacceptance is the evil of all negative outcomes. Whether you’re overwhelmed by a tragic incident of losing someone or not, accepting reality as the way it is could be the first thing one should do to get out of the grief. Your grief counselor will help you realize that.

Getting Rid Of The Trauma

More than a counselor, your therapist is a behavioral health provider, as the entire process is related to one’s behavioral health. Hence, it’s of utmost importance for your therapist to identify and deal with the grief and the trauma associated with it. A traumatic experience can be evoked through several gruesome exposures encircling your loved one’s death. Discussing them with your grief counselor may assist you to move past the trauma.

Overcoming Guilt

In many cases, people might blame themselves for the death of their close ones, or the feeling of not doing enough for them who just breathed their last could lead to guilt. While the feeling of guilt is quite normal in many situations, the prolonged presence of it could result in experiencing complicated grief.

Becoming Compassionate

Your grief counselor is someone to whom you can talk freely about your loved ones whatever the way you want. Being entirely encapsulated by the grief of losing someone, people often try to portray the deceased ones like they are still alive to the therapist. Sometimes, they just express their love and affection towards the departed person to reminisce about the beautiful memories. Expressing your thoughts and personal feelings freely could be a huge relief for you to get over the tragic event.

Coping With Life Changes

People come and go but life goes on like the flow of a river. Without the beloved companion, life will surely be different, but to get accustomed to the evolving situation you must cope with it. Your therapist will help find you new ways to live your life.

How Does Grief Counseling Work?

The objective is to help you accept the loss, understand the current situation, and surge through everything like a strong soul. The grieving process typically requires a quiet and calm environment where you will be able to uncover serious emotions in your way. You may completely breakdown, shed tears, or laugh in utter despair.

You will be given full permission to express grief. The grief counselor will listen to you patiently to move to the next step. The counselor will never push you beyond your comfort zone but might talk to you in such a way that might at first seem to you pretty harsh. The techniques such as writing letters or journals, reading assignments, creating memory books, using art therapy could boost your self-esteem gradually.

Despite all the loss and suffering, the counselor will slowly help you to get back on your feet. The more you will be coming out of despair, the more the therapist will start figuring out realistic goals for you that will suit you better. However, you must remember that a grief counselor cannot make you forget the memory of your deceased companion completely or can’t change the way you are.