grief

The Ten Commandments of Grief Counselling

Suicide is a significant public health problem, and properly supporting those left behind — the survivors — is a challenging but significant contribution to the wellbeing of the whole community. If a suicide-bereaved person wound up in your therapy room, what counselling tasks would need to be worked through with them? In this post we […]

Symptoms and Behaviours of Unresolved Grief

Lindemann (1944), Lazare (1979) and Worden (2005) have identified numerous symptoms and behaviours that indicate unresolved / complicated grief. While many of the symptoms identified can be considered ordinary during the more acute earlier phase of grief, they are considered major signs of unresolved / complicated grief if they remain for unusually prolonged periods of […]

Techniques in Grief Counselling

Below are examples of some useful techniques in grief counselling that stem from a range of different theoretical frames. Cognitive restructuring The underlying assumption with this approach is that our thoughts influence our feelings; particularly the secret self scripts that are constant in our minds. It is not unusual for the grieving person to experience […]

A Counselling Case Study Exploring Loss

Sue and Tom lost their child Jill to leukaemia approximately one year ago. Tom suggested that Sue attend Professional Counselling because she still doesn’t seem to be able to cope with everyday living. For ease of writing the Professional Counsellor is abbreviated to C. A précis of the session is as follows In the first […]

Reasons for Unresolved/Complicated Grief

In this post we explore psychological and social factors that may contribute to unresolved/complicated grief. Click here for a list of symptoms and behaviours of unresolved/complicated grief. Psychological factors Anger and guilt can often be a key source of adjustment difficulties in the process of grief. Guilt can inhibit the grief process if mourners are unable […]

Manifestations of Normal Grief

With a number of people undergoing grief, it is important to understand signs of normal grief. Worden (2005) identified four categories that demonstrate normal grief. This includes feelings, cognitions, physical sensations and behaviours. It is also important to remember that these signs of grief will vary from individual to individual. Feelings Sadness is a common […]

Grief Counselling through Questioning

Questioning is used for therapeutic assessment and to facilitate the client’s expression of emotion, which is a crucial part of the therapeutic process in complicated grief counselling. Examples of questions and their purposes are outlined below. Questions “Can you tell me about the death?” “What happened that day”? “Where were you when you found out […]

Types of Unresolved/Complicated Grief

Historically, researchers have argued that complicated grief is an expression of a major depressive disorder or an anxiety-based disorder that has been triggered by a specific loss.?More recently, researchers have concluded that grief symptoms only partially overlap with symptoms of depression and other DSM-IV-TR categories, such as anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, and that […]

Loss, Grief and Children

There can be many reasons for children to be experiencing grief and loss. These may include; the death of a parent, pet, friend or grandparent, family separation or divorce, change of their living environment and exposure to traumatic events. Children experience grief in their own unique way, while at the same time every child’s grief […]

Unique Needs of the Suddenly Unemployed

Reactions to the news of sudden unemployment, whether through redundancy or dismissal, are as varied as the individuals affected. Emotional reactions can range from shock and disbelief to anger and resentment. Of course, there is no set template for how an individual will react to news of their job loss. Reactions are dependant on an […]

Losing a Loved One: Moving Forward

Together we have looked at your individual reactions and feelings after the death of your loved one. We have then explored ways of coping which range from relaxation techniques to journal writing and rituals. After that we have learnt how to assist those who are grieving including the different developmental ages of children. And lastly, […]