Is Grief Counseling Effective?
Grief is our natural response to loss. It’s a complicated journey that is difficult to understand until we go through it. If you’ve just experienced the loss of a loved one, pet, or part of your life, you might be feeling lost and alone. One way to feel supported and heard is through grief counseling.
What is grief counseling?
Grief counseling, also known as bereavement counseling, is a form of therapy specifically tailored to help a person cope with the emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical manifestations of grief.
It provides a safe space for individuals to express their feelings, process their loss, and learn healthy coping mechanisms to navigate their grief journey. Specific grief therapy approaches include:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Group therapy
Art therapy
Play therapy (especially for children)
How does grief counseling help?
It normalizes the grieving process.
Often, those who are grieving may feel isolated or misunderstood in their grief. Our society’s expectations for grieving can look wildly different depending on each situation. For example, people might expect an old widower to grieve differently than a young parent who lost their child. We cannot know what those grieving processes will look like. In grief counseling, you are reassured that your feelings are valid and that there is no right or wrong way to grieve, no matter what society says. This validation can be an empowering moment—the point at which you know you’re not alone in your grieving journey.
It gives you the tools to cope.
It’s easy to feel lost without concrete steps to cope with your grief. Grief counseling teaches techniques such as mindfulness meditation, journaling, or guided imagery. These tools will help you manage your emotions and find a comforting rhythm in the healing process. Grief counselors may also provide education about grief’s stages, which can help you anticipate what’s coming and adjust your expectations.
It can help you find new meaning.
A grief counselor will encourage making new meaning out of loss. This might mean honoring the memory of a loved one, finding ways to carry on their legacy, or taking a new opportunity for personal growth. Therapy can give you the tools and permission to create a new purpose for yourself.
It gives you human connections.
Grief can be an incredibly isolating experience, and many people may feel hesitant to burden others with their grief. Grief counseling provides a safe, nonjudgmental space for you to express yourself without fear of judgment. Outside one-on-one counseling, support groups offer the opportunity to connect with others who are going through similar experiences. Connecting with others can be one of the most comforting steps in your journey.
How effective is grief counseling?
Studies show grief counseling can be effective, though most people do go through the grieving process whether or not they’re in therapy. However, those who go through grief counseling feel validated by their experiences in therapy, benefit from challenging negative thinking patterns, and have fewer long-term symptoms.
Therapy’s effectiveness will depend on a person’s personality and coping style, the nature of their loss, the level of support available from friends and family, and the quality of the relationship with their therapist. In short, grief is a complex experience that may require ongoing support over an extended period of time.
Are you looking for help?
No one should go through the grieving process alone. If you’ve recently lost someone close to you and don’t know where to get started, reach out to a grief counselor today.
To find out more about whether grief counseling is right for you, please reach out to us.
