The loss of a loved one can radically change how you experience the world. Whether it’s the loss of a parent, a partner, or a child, it can feel like you’re losing your grip on what’s going on. It hurts as nothing else can. Many recognize how this affects them, and they turn to resources that they hope will help them get through it.
Grief counseling is one of the best ways to weather this storm.
Although it’s been in the public eye for over thirty years, seeking counseling for grief is still often misunderstood or underutilized. Here’s how it can help people through these hardships and set them up for a successful future.
What Is Grief Counseling?
Grief counseling is a targeted type of help that aims at giving someone the tools they need to navigate through loss. This could mean that the patient needs a couple of sessions before they’ve gotten what they needed, or it may mean that they need weekly sessions for ten months because they need help working through it.
Is It Just Therapy?
Grief therapy and grief counseling can overlap, but they’re mostly different things. A grief therapist and a grief counselor have different certifications, of course, but it’s also different through what they help with.
Grief counseling exists to help with the grief when there’s nothing else going on. This is for neurotypical people, have no mental illness like anxiety or depression and need to learn how to cope with losing someone important to them.
On the other hand, grief therapy is for people who do have another condition alongside their grief. Some mental illnesses like depression or disorders like ASD can make it harder for people who are grieving. Therapy helps these people grieve while also giving them coping mechanisms for their other needs.
What Does It Do For People?
Grief counseling does several things for every individual who needs it. Not only does it give them tools to heal and access their feelings, but it also gives them an outlet to talk it out. When grieving, some may not feel like they have the right to be sad around loved ones because someone may have been closer to the deceased, or they may feel like they have to be healthy for their family members and not grieve openly.
When someone Googles ‘grief counseling near me,’ it’s the first step to finding solutions for the struggle they’re going through. A counselor listens, understands, and helps create ways for this person to grieve in their way. It’s a personal and vital lesson for anyone who loses someone.
Is It Worth It?
There’s no right way to grieve. The average person can take six months to eight years before they finally feel like they’re done suffering. Starting this long healing process on your own may sound like a more romantic idea, but there’s no reason anyone should have to go through this alone. Grief counselors are there to help you build a pathway to a happier life; you have to let them.
