Grief, Bereavement and Loss

At some point, we will all experience the pain that comes with losing someone. “Give it time” is often a platitude offered by well-meaning friends and family because they simply do not know what to say. But what if time goes by and we still grieve excruciatingly?

Grief is a complicated process, which is unique to each person. Grief counselling can be helpful at any stage of the process, early on in the initial weeks of trauma or later when grief still interferes with day-to-day tasks.

It is also important to note that grief does not relate only to the death of a loved one. Grandparents may grieve the physical loss of their children and grandchildren who have emigrated. An employee may grieve the loss of his/her job after retrenchment. A person with paraplegia may grieve the loss of function of his/her legs. A divorcee may grieve the loss of his/her marriage. Any significant loss in a person’s life may lead to grief. When this grief feels overwhelming, counselling may be helpful.

My approach to grief counselling depends very much on where my clients are in their journey and whether or not they feel stuck. The work is naturally emotional and can be exhausting, so I work at a pace that best suits the client. The end goal is to ensure that the client is able to live a fulfilling life (while maintaining a healthy connection with the memories of their loved one, in the case of a loss through death).