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Do you struggle with the pain and loneliness from the loss of a loved one?
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Do you wonder if you will ever feel normal again?
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Are you ready to manage the roller coaster feelings that come with grief?
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Want to learn self-care to help you heal?
Grief & Loss
Counseling for Grief and Loss
Most people will experience loss at some point in their lives. Grief is a reaction to any form of loss. Grief is not only restricted to feelings of sadness. It can also involve guilt, regret and anger. Emotions during grief are difficult to understand and they can be confusing. They can vary in intensity and seemingly hit you “out of the blue”. The process of adapting to a significant loss can vary dramatically from one person to another. It often depends on a person’s background, beliefs, and relationship to what was lost.
There are many different types of losses. A person may find themself grieving a painful relationship or the ending of a relationship. Someone else may be mourning a loved one who died from cancer. Someone else might be grieving the loss of a beloved pet. Coping with the loss of a pet can be as painful as losing a person.
People in grief can bounce between different thoughts and emotions as they make sense of their loss. Thoughts can range from soothing (“She’s no longer in pain), to troubling (”It wasn’t her time”). Some may assign themselves varying levels of responsibility, from “There was nothing I could have done” to “It’s all my fault.”
Grieving behaviors also have a wide range. Some find comfort in sharing their feelings with others. Other people prefer to be alone with their feelings. Whatever your preference is, you need to know that there is no exact way to grieve. This process is individualistic. A trained counselor can help you to identify your feelings and learn how to manage intense or even intrusive emotions which can affect the quality of your life and relationships.
Five Stages of Grief (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, 1969)
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
David Kesler identified a sixth stage of grief – Finding Meaning.
The experience of grief is not something a person ever recovers from completely. However, time typically lessens the intensity of the emotions. Approximately 15% of people who have lost a loved one will experience complicated grief. The term refers to a persistent form of bereavement, lasting for one year or more.
Ready to get started?
Grief counseling will help you to understand the complexity of your experience and address it, so you can start to heal. If you are ready to talk about your loss and grief and no longer want to feel stuck in grief, please contact us. We will walk along side of you during this difficult time. We are here to help, call (540) 316-6362, email, or schedule an appointment.
