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. Theriveworks grief therapists in Columbia, SC 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 Thriveworks provider at Thriveworks in Columbia, SC 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?
To Love is ultimately to lose what we had the privilege of loving.
-Elizabeth Kubler Ross
Mental health care professionals agree that one of the most helpful ways to work through sadness associated with loss is to express your grief, and not hold it in. Grieving is a personal and highly individual experience. How you grieve depends on many factors, including your personality and coping style, your life experience, your faith, and the nature of the loss. The single most important factor in healing from loss is having the support of other people. Even if you aren’t comfortable talking about your feelings, having an outlet to express them when you’re grieving is important. Sharing the story of your loss can make the burden of grief easier to deal with. One of the many challenges associated with grieving is adjusting to the new reality of living in the absence of what you once had. This often requires developing a new routine, envisioning a new future, and even adopting a new sense of identity. Meeting with a trained grief counselor can help.
We experience grief and loss due to changes in life roles, loss of ability, loss of employment, the ending of a relationship, or death of a loved one. Examples include:
- Loss of health
- Loss of financial stability
- A miscarriage
- Retirement
- Loss of a cherished dream
- Loss of safety after trauma
- A loved one’s serious illness
- Selling the family home
A trained counselor will assess whether the grief related symptoms are normal, prolonged or complicated. Grief is sometimes compared to riding a rollercoaster of emotions with some moments feeling very intense. Being patient with the process and allowing yourself to have any feelings about the loss can help. If you feel stuck in your grief, talking to a counselor may help you move forward in the healing process.
Common symptoms include:
- Feeling like you are “going crazy”
- Difficulty concentrating,
- Feeling sad or depressed
- Feeling irritable
- Angry or rage (at the deceased, oneself, situations, higher powers)
- Feeling frustrated
- Experiencing anxiety or nervousness,
- Guilt
- Lack of energy and motivation/losing interest in activities once enjoyed.
Sexual Abuse, Eating Disorder, Anxiety, Grief / Loss, Depression, +1 more 
