Our therapists offer grief & loss counseling in West Palm Beach, FL

Stacey: My approach to helping people with grief and loss is meeting the client were they are at in their grief.

Debra Rose: My go-to approach for helping people in grief & loss counseling is to use the 5 Stages of Grief developed by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler Ross. I find the best benefit in this approach because I can target the stage the client is in presently, develop a treatment plan based on that stage, and then move forward.

Stacey: I teach the following tools in grief and loss therapy:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy: Understanding where the client's foundational thinking started, breaking down distorted thoughts, understanding automatic thoughts are not true, and changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts.
• Mindfulness: Learning how to stay in the present moment by being mindful of your surroundings. This technique helps slow down the brain to eliminate racing thoughts and decrease anxious feelings.
• Explaining the stages of grief: Helping the client identify which stage they are in, whether it be anger, bargaining, guilt, depression, denial, shock, or acceptance.

Debra Rose: I teach the following tools in grief & loss counseling. They are the 5 stages of grief:

• Denial: The client does not believe their loved one has passed.
• Anger: The client is angry at everyone or a higher power that this has happened.
• Bargaining: The client wants to make a deal with the higher power. This is done to try to bring their loved one back.
• Depression: The client experiences the loss profoundly and may not eat or sleep. Or the opposite may occur.
• Acceptance: The client goes through the stages and finally accepts the loss.

Stacey: I know a client is making meaningful progress in grief and loss therapy through client reports and hearing how the client is talking about the loss.

Debra Rose: I know a client is making meaningful progress in grief & loss counseling when they can show that they have moved through a stage and their actions have changed. For example, they start eating and sleeping again.

Stacey: Clients can supplement their time in grief and loss therapy by using material and listening to podcasts discussed in the session. The best supplement is practicing the tools the client learns in sessions and understanding it takes time to heal.

Debra Rose: Clients can supplement their time in grief & loss counseling by looking at YouTube videos I have selected for them and also filling out pre-selected worksheets on this topic. We can then discuss the videos and worksheets in a session.

Stacey: To prepare for your first grief and loss session, you can remind yourself that this is the therapist's job: to help you to be open and honest.

Debra Rose: To prepare for their first grief & loss counseling session, the client can write a short paragraph about what their recent experience has been about this loss, or they can create a short audio tape explaining what happened in their own words.