Strategies for Healing: How Grief & Loss Counselling Can Help You Work Through Your Grief
After experiencing loss, many people feel overwhelmed with grief. This may come after the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or other major life changes. While grief does get better with time, it’s not always possible to move on without support. With grief and loss counselling, those facing loss can work through the stages of grief with professional support and equip themselves with the necessary tools to move forward.
What is Grief?
Grief is defined as an emotional response to loss. Most often, grief is experienced after the death of a loved one; however, it’s not uncommon to experience grief after retirement or job loss, graduation, loss of physical abilities, or even a loss of financial security. It can manifest in a variety of ways, including anger, sadness, guilt, and exhaustion.
While it’s a popular theory that a person suffering from grief experiences five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, it’s important to note that not every person experiences grief the same. While some may go through these particular stages in any order, others may experience only some of these stages or even none at all.
In addition to negative feelings, a person who is grieving a loss may also experience a variety of other symptoms, such as:
- Memory loss and problems concentrating
- Withdrawing from friends and family
- Mood swings
- Problems eating and sleeping
How Grief and Loss counselling Can Help
If you’re grieving a recent loss or life change and struggling to overcome feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, or guilt, speaking with a psychologist may help. At The Family Psychology Place, we use a variety of techniques to help you gain awareness of your emotions so that you can work through loss and grief in a healthier, more effective way. This includes:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Grief and Bereavement
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a type of talk therapy that trains clients to reframe the way they think about and react to feelings of grief, helping them alter their view of the grieving experience and improve coping skills.
Play Therapy
Typically used with children, play therapy involves expressing emotions through play utilizing toys, games, and imaginative interactions. Play therapy for children is provided exclusively at our north office.
Compassionate Grief and Loss counselling in Calgary
Our psychologists have the experience and training necessary to help adults and children work through grief. Our grief and loss counselling sessions may include talk therapy techniques such as CBT, as well as play therapy for children. We’re here to help you through tough times and overcome the negative feelings associated with loss, equipping you with the emotional tools you need to grieve in a healthier, more effective way.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment for grief and loss counselling in Calgary.
