Bereavement and loss
What is bereavement counselling?
To be bereaved means losing someone we love through death. It results in a longing for the dead person and a period of adjustment, which may take years. All parts of our being may be affected – emotional, physical, spiritual, social – but the overriding feeling is one of intense pain or grief. Grief is the name given to the natural reactions we have after the death of someone who has been close to us. Just like a physical injury, the recovery and healing process can take time. Usually, after an indeterminate period of mourning, our lives slowly return to roughly how they were, we pick up our daily duties again and, although we never forget our lost loved one, we find a way to move on with our own lives. Sometimes, however, a loss affects us in a profound manner and we find ourselves moving from natural grief into a sustained period of depression, anxiety or feelings of hopelessness and inner collapse. This is when counselling may be useful.
How people grieve is affected by a number of factors, such as:
- Their relationship with the dead person
- The way the person died
- The person’s personality and coping styles
- Age
- Gender
- Religious beliefs
- Cultural background
- Previous experiences of loss
Common experiences of bereavement:
When you are bereaved you might feel any or all of the following emotions, in any order:
- shock
- numbness
- confusion
- disbelief
- searching for your lost loved one
- anguish
- physical and emotional stress
- sadness
- anger
- guilt
- despair
- relief
- depression
- fear
- anxiety
How can counselling help?
Bereavement counselling can help support individuals, offering a safe place to make sense of their loss and help in adjusting to their new situation. In time their grieving will ease and gradually life will become more bearable. It can also be a non-judgmental place to express taboo feelings around death, such as relief or anger at the deceased person.
If you would like to find a counsellor who specialises in bereavement, please search our database.