Psychotherapy for Grief and Loss

Psychotherapy for grief and loss offers a structured approach to help you process your emotions and find a path to healing. Grief and loss can be very complex.  This is because they come in many different forms throughout our lives.  Grieving is a natural response to loss, but sometimes the process can be overwhelming. When the pain becomes too much to bear, psychotherapy for grief and loss can provide the support and tools needed to navigate this difficult time.

Grief

Grief comes in many forms.

• Death of a loved one – including pets
• Loss of a job
• Loss of a house and other material objects that are dear to us
• Loss of friendship
• Loss of a marriage/relationship
• Loss of identity
• Loss of a country
• Loss of health
• Loss of physical body part

 Most of us throughout our lives experience many of the losses listed.  That is why loss can be so complex, because the memory of one loss can compound the experience of a current loss.

Grief, is the passage of time that follows loss.  Your experience of grief depends on how you deal with loss. There is absolutely no right or wrong way to grieve.  Contrary to popular knowledge, the stages that you go through in grief are not chronological or prescriptive,  Everyone’s experience of grief is coloured by their own personal qualities and circumstances.

Even though being alone in your grief is appropriate and even necessary at times isolation in grief can be unbearable. If you find yourself feeling isolated it can be very helpful to reach out to a friend, a psychotherapist or a support group as a way of feeling supported through this difficult time.  Shouldering sorrow and heartache with others can bring a surprising depth and richness to this experience.

Loss

It is indeed a paradox that the death or loss of one thing can give rise to the birth of another. If you allow yourself to sink into the sadness and pain of loss, you may actually be paving way for something very new and unexpected either internally, in yourself or externally in your circumstances. This doesn’t mean that we hope for loss or that loss is pleasant.  But if we enter into the experience and depth of loss rather than pretending that everything is ok, the deep grief that we feel takes on a meaningful and multiple facets.

                                     A counsellor or psychotherapist can be very helpful to sit with as you grieve.

Making meaning and finding meaning can only be done when you feel safe and responded to.

In therapy we work with the many facets of grief. We explore old feelings, new feelings, dreams, past present and future.  This helps to place your loss into a more meaningful position within the context of your whole life and yourself.

When to Consider Psychotherapy for Grief and Loss

If your grief is interfering with your ability to function, or if you’ve been struggling with loss for an extended period without relief, it might be time to seek help. Psychotherapy can be a powerful tool in your journey toward healing.

By choosing psychotherapy for grief and loss, you’re taking an important step toward reclaiming your life and finding peace.

If this sounds like a journey that you would like to embark upon, please contact Laura for a 15 minute free consultation