Guide to Loss and Grief
Counselling for loss and grief
The process of dealing with a significant loss can vary dramatically from one person to another, but coping with that grief doesn’t have to happen alone.
Grief counselling is for anyone who has experienced a loss, regardless of how recently or how long ago the loss took place.
“ Grief never ends… but it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith… it is the price of love. “
-Author Unknown
When grief doesn’t go away
It’s normal to feel numb, angry, sad or even depressed following a loss. Many people tell us that these emotions lessen in their severity over time. But this isn’t the case for everyone. If you want to feel better and work towards healing the emotional wounds while learning to live with grief, grief counselling can help.
Grief counselling is for:
People who have experienced the death of someone close to them
Those who have experienced the death of a child, a spouse/partner, a parent, a close friend, a pregnancy, or even a beloved pet
Those who have experienced loss through divorce, family estrangement, job loss, retirement, or loss of physical ability or health
Why choose grief counselling?
Grief counselling focuses on helping you work through the grieving process after a major loss including: learning about grief and what to expect when grieving; expressing feelings; building new relationships, and developing a new sense of self after a loss. Whatever you are feeling and thinking and for however long you have been feeling and thinking this way, you will be encouraged to share, vent and feel validated in your grief. After a significant loss, most people are concerned with how to continue living their life in a meaningful and fulfilled way. Grief counselling can help you navigate towards that goal.
How counselling can help
Grief counselling first and foremost creates a safe and open space to share feelings. There is no judgement and no reliance on a timeline or stages of grief.
Grief can be an intensely vulnerable time and it is important that you feel safe. Alternatively, grief can sometimes make people close up and harden – for fear that their feelings are too much for them (or others) to handle. Grief counsellors work with you slowly and thoughtfully, at your pace, to help you understand how grief fits in the context of your life moving forward.
You will never be encouraged to forget your loss or simply “move on”. Integrating your loss into your future is a vital component of your journey of grief. When and if you are ready, a therapist will help you to see the meaning in your loss and help you to heal through a deep understanding of the impact of the person (or place/thing/role) in your life. This will allow you to live your life carrying with you the gifts and challenges that the subject of your loss brought into your life. It is our experience that this process brings about relief, healing and growth.
Bereavement of a loved one
The loss of a loved one always happens in the context of our relationship with that person. Grief counselling can help you to process complicated, difficult, or unresolved issues in your relationship with the person who died. Relationship issues may have been recognized as troublesome when the person was alive. Or perhaps it’s only since the death that you have become aware of complicated patterns in the relationship. Don’t carry these heavy, complicated issues with you as you move forward. Grief counselling will help you process the issues, experience the emotions, and heal from the pain.
Navigate Guide
Guide to Loss and Grief
What is grief?
That feeling you’re feeling is grief
Expressing your emotions
Time does not heal all wounds
Supporting a grieving person
Counselling for loss and grief