When you lose someone or something, that ache in your heart is a testament to the depth of your connection. Grief is the emotional suffering caused by this loss, often manifesting as a mix of sadness, anger, disbelief, guilt, and sometimes even relief. Each emotion reflects the profound impact of what was lost and signals a significant transition that demands acknowledgment and adjustment. The experience of grief is inescapably linked to the death, the mourned relationship, and individual strategies of grief coping. The American Psychological Association (APA) states that grief is a state of great distress that undermines such cognitive, emotional, social, and even physical functions and can engender alienation and bewilderment (APA, 2020).
The Five Stages of Grief
Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ model of five stages of grief – anger, bargaining, depression, denial and acceptance – is one of the models that is most widely known when discussing the grieving process. It should, however, be pointed out that such stages are not necessarily sequential, and may not be universal. People may not only have different feelings at different periods in time, but they might also go through stages in a cycle. The Kübler-Ross model put forth in the above paper under discussion brings to the fore that grief is personal with substantial ethnic and cultural differences (Kübler-Ross & Kessler, 2014).
Complicated vs. Normal Grief
Grief is often a manageable emotion after a loss, but for some, the reaction gets out of hand and is classified as complicated grief (CG). These types of cases are relatively rare but has a hefty negative impact on life (Shear et al., 2011). Complicated grief occurs when people feel anger and frustration for an unreasonable amount of time; or feel stressed even after years have passed since the loss of a loved one and are still unable to adjust back to regular living. This type of grief is manageable and responds well to therapy.
How Therapy Supports Healing
The Role of a Therapist in Grief Recovery
Therapists provide a safe, empathetic, and non-judgmental space in which people are able to express and work through their anger or sadness which stems from loss. With the aid of therapy, individuals are able to discover their personal grief timeline and processes, comprehend the degree of their feelings and emotions and to create effective and personalized approaches to dealing with future situations in the most efficient manner. Essential to this is the fact of the therapy itself, in that, it assists the client to sail through this rough patch as their anxiousness and worry is reassuringly handled. A report carried out by Harvard Health Publishing indicates that the presence of a therapist provides emotional support that leads to improved long-term emotional status (Harvard Health, 2021).
Help with Grief: Grief Counselling
Grief Counseling has a flat aim of addressing the very many painful emotions that one experienced after the loss of a loved one. Other types of therapies are centered on general emotional health, grief therapy has the singular purpose of dealing with the bereavement process. This type of therapy usually offered over a series of sessions focuses on such areas as working through feelings regarding unresolved issues, dealing with the attachment that one has on the anniversary of the loved one’s death and trying to seek for new ways of deriving meaning in life after losing a loved one. Evidence from several studies has confirmed the therapeutic role in grief coping. Reports suggest that patients’ emotional and life functioning during bereavement with professional help was significantly more favorable than without assistance. Individuals manifest not only a better ability to resolve grief but also elevate their chances to avoid developing a troublesome or complicated grief over time.
Types of Therapy for Grief
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is often the go-to for the treatment of bereavement focusing on restructuring negative and malfunctioning thoughts and actions. It is of great benefit to those with complicated grief where people are trapped in a loop of unfavorable feelings and mental constructs concerning the loss. The research by Abas Solaimani Khashab and colleagues (2017) published in Psychological Medicine indicates that grief sufferers can also benefit from CBT through alleviation of depressive symptoms and integration of effective emotion management strategies. (Abas Solaimani Khashab et al., 2017).
Mindfulness-Based Grief Therapy (MBGT)
Mindfulness-based grief therapy, also known as micro-Grief therapy, combines the practices of mindfulness such as conducting meditation to intervene in the distressed persons emotions. Literature published by the Mindfulness Journal suggests that MBGT assists people in dealing with losses by increasing their emotional comprehension and willingness to mourn (Huang et al., 2019). Persons who implemented such methods claimed to be better able to deal with emotions, and also reported lesser symptoms of complicated grief.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) ACT should be placed in the same basket as those above when considering approaches to therapy for grief. ACT wants people to acknowledge their thoughts and feelings as opposed to them trying to grapple with or run away from these emotions. ACT’s impact on grief-related anxiety and depression was confirmed by Lilian Dindo et al. in their study published 2017 in the journal Behavior Therapy where they noted enhancement of psychological flexibility among the participants of the study. (Lilian Dindo et al., 2017).
Group Therapy and Peer Support
There are also factors contributing to shared grief in group therapy. This kind of therapy has also been claimed as beneficial since it makes the users interact with people suffering the same issues, allowing a sense of connection. Empirical reports indicate that patients receiving group therapy tend to be at lower odds of becoming lonely due to their grief as the therapy promotes forbearance through bonding. Such evidence is buttressed by a review published by the Journal of Loss and Trauma which depicts group therapy as a rescue to loneliness and as a mode of reinforcement and healing voids due to loss and trauma.
How Canadian Therapy can Help in Grief Management
All in all, grief is endemic and stressful at the same time, and with the help of therapy, it surely can be managed well. At Canadian Therapy we provide an understanding & competent regarding grief with focus on the customized treatment of therapy. Having knowledge in CBT, ACT, mindfulness practices, Canadian Therapy offers individual interventions to deal with the difficult feelings associated with loss. Whether dealing with complicated grief unresolved grief or looking for grief during the difficult bereavement, the clinic always provides compassionate care and goes the extra mile to help its client. Using best techniques and skilled staff, Canadian Therapy achieves the goals of its clients – emotional, and healing as well as fostering strength to face obstacles in the future. Contact Canadian Therapy to start the journey towards overcoming emotional challenges and achieving mental health.
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