A grief counsellor speaks about the person grief in order to obtain a reaction to the loss and enables the person to accept the loss over time.
A number of upsetting events, other than a death of someone close can cause grief. Events like marriage breakdown, loss of a job or learning about a terminal illness.
Grief counselling enables the person to explore issues and factors that can either help or hinder the natural process of greiving the ultimately enables the person to re adjust after the loss.
Grief is a most painful experience to go through. We suffer many small losses that help us to handle the large losses. When someone close to us has been ill for a long time, we experience great sorrow when the death finally occurs. But when death occurs suddenly then our life is thrown into turmoil and we can deny the death occuring and feel confused. Counsellors call this a complicated grief reaction and is brought about as we were not emotionally prepared for the death.
Counselling can be conducted either individually or in groups. Grief counselling is usually conducted after a loved one dies, but may also be helpful in grief-provoking situations, such as job loss, the diagnosis of a fatal illness, relationship breakdown or another reason. Counselling for grief works to overcome the intense feelings of loss.
Who can benefit from Grief Counselling? When a person loses someone close, they will most likely have lots of attention initially from friends and family. But most people will look to move on after a few weeks, especially when the loss has no direct effect on them. The grieving person who was close to the deceased however may not be ready to “move on”. In this situation grief counselling becomes most effective, especially if the death was untimely. It gives the grieving person a route to continue to deal with the loss and receive help that may not be available from the person’s social network, even friends or family.
Grief counselling is especially important for those who may have had a difficult relationship with the deceased person or are socially a little isolated or had emotional issues previous to the loss.
What will it be like? Counsellors recognise that grief is a process that cannot be rushed. Grief counselling may also work to remind the person that most of the feelings they have or choices they make while grieving are quite natural and normal. The principal goals of grief counselling differ to counselling where a person wants or needs to change behaviour. Instead, the goal of the counsellor is to be “present” for the bereaved when they are feeling most vulnerable. This is sometimes called compassioning.
Most often the grief counsellor helps the person by listening in an active manner and showing empathy. Then assisting the person to find coping mechanisms to deal with the grief.
For further free information on grief counselling visit Stockport Counselling Service. To find a Local Counselling Service.