Grief is a natural response to loss and is a process. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. A process that is often overwhelming and confusing, but it’s also one that you don’t have to go through alone. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. These are normal reactions to loss—and the more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be.

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What can one expect from Grief counseling, or bereavement counseling,

 

It designed to help people cope with difficult losses to develop methods and strategies for coping with your loss and grief. Grief counseling provides an outlet through which to discuss one’s feelings and emotions surrounding the grieving process and the effect it has had on their life. 

 

Grief counseling is especially helpful for those whose grief: 

• Interrupts the flow of their daily activities and goals

• Creates residual feelings of guilt, anxiety, or depression

• Doesn’t seem to be progressing

• Is preventing the sufferer from successfully forming new relationships

 

How Does Grief Counseling Work?

When beginning grief counseling, a therapist or counselor will spend the first few sessions forming an empathetic relationship with their client. Grief counseling may involve talk or behavioral therapy methods to help the client process their grief, and view their emotions and the events surrounding their loss from new perspectives. The ultimate goal of grief counseling is to help the person suffering reach the fifth and final stage—acceptance.