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 Tucson, AZ 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 Tucson, AZ 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?
Loss is a natural part of our human lives. Each of us experiences numerous losses and the grief that is the inevitable result. Being able to navigate the grief process is tricky for numerous reasons:
- There is still a stigma around grief, particularly the length of time it may take to move through. Frequently those around us don’t understand why we can’t just “pull out of it” and go on…or, worse, that we have no real reason to grieve because others have it worse, or we are being a “baby,” etc. This, of course, makes it all that much harder.
- There isn’t a clear understanding about what grief is and why it’s so important to honor. When we lose something/someone that’s important to us, we need to emotionally acknowledge and process how different life will be without
- Many people confuse grief with depression and fear that it’s permanent. It’s not. It’s the natural process of accepting a loss/change that will alter our lives and the way we think about ourselves…and others.
- Grief has numerous stages and going through them can look like we are “all over the place”. We can be angry one minute and sobbing the next. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s work on the stages of grief revolutionized the way we look at and deal with grief. It also normalizes what feels like the “craziness” of the process.
- Judgment of the process is still rampant, not just from others but for ourselves when we are in it. We wonder “why am I so all over the place?”, “why can’t I stop crying/being angry/begging God for a different outcome, etc.??”
- We stop ourselves from feeling it altogether because it’s “weak.” We numb out.
- We try to go it alone.
- It’s hard to find someone who can really be with us in that grief and all it’s stages for as long as we need, with no judgment.
If this is resonating with you regarding a loss you are experiencing or helping someone else with, you can do these things now:
- Acknowledge you are in a grief process and that it’s natural and healthy
- Talk about it… to someone SAFE
- Move! Stay physically active
- Get involved: join a group to help yourself and others process the grief
- Keep up your routine
Grief counseling focuses on addressing a deep sadness coming from the end of a relationship, a life, or a state of being. It’s that safe person, space and time to move through the grief and, when ready, open up to what’s next in life. And, trust me, there is another chapter in your life when the grief is processed. Call us today at Thriveworks Tucson to find that safe place to get Grief counseling in Tucson.
