Therapy For Bereavement and Loss

Bereavement and loss is something that people can really struggle with in their lives. It can be all consuming and the pain an individual can experience can often leave them feeling as though they don’t know how to carry on with life.

The death of someone close can be incredibly painful.  It can leave a huge and devastating void. This level of grief and distress can leave people feeling totally lost. This can also apply to someone that is dying – for the individual themselves and for those closest to them. There is so much loss to contend with and face.  

Here at Your Counselling Service, we offer therapy to individuals that have lost someone they love. To those that are losing someone they love currently and to those that are dying. We provide a calm, neutral and supportive space, where people can talk about all their different emotions, feelings and thoughts. We explore these with our client’s and we give them room to let out everything they need too – from anger to despair. We also look at coping strategies and coping mechanisms and help individuals to put in place the things that they need too to cope.

Bereavement and grief are of course a major form of loss for people, but loss can also apply to a great deal of other areas in people’s lives.  For example – relationships can break down, friendships can end, redundancy can hit, families can separate, pets can die – the list is endless.  Whatever loss people face – it can be extremely painful. Even if a person decides to file for the divorce for example, or to end the friendship – they can still feel loss.

Loss can apply to so many things. People can feel they lose their identity for example – when they become a parent, or they retire. Others can feel a loss of innocence if they have experienced or been exposed to abuse. These are just some of the different examples of loss.  The list is endless – loss can apply to hope, to dreams, to goals etc.  It can apply to the loss of a baby – miscarriage, abortion etc.  The pain that people live with after a major loss is immense.  Sometimes because of this people can turn to destructive coping mechanisms or develop addictive behaviours.

How we can help deal with loss

Therapy is a really good way to deal with any type of loss.  It offers a safe and secure place to talk, without judgement, about the pain and the emotions that are coming up for a person. Slowly they can discuss and begin to let go of the difficult feelings they are carrying around with them. 

Gradually they will start to feel a little lighter and brighter, and day by day life becomes more manageable.  People begin to take small steps towards rebuilding a life for themselves, and they can begin to renew confidence in which they are. 

It is not an easy process, and it does take time, but with the help of a skilled therapist it can get easier. Our experienced team at your counselling service will also encourage people to look at other areas of their life, such as sleeping, eating, exercise etc. and aim to get more of a balance and moderation, so that in turn they feel better. Our overall goal is to enable individuals to live a calmer life where they feel more equipped and able to cope.

Our approach to helping those who experienced loss

Making the decision to start therapy is both daunting and frightening. People often feel nervous and don’t know what to expect. To give you an idea, we would book an assessment as an initial chance for us to meet and talk. This would last an hour, and it is an opportunity to ask questions and to get to know you more. You can also ask about anything that you are unsure about. If you feel comfortable and are happy to go ahead, then we would book you in for weekly therapy. Each week would be different depending on where you are at, and what you are coming for. We can discuss all of your needs in the assessment and put a treatment plan in place. We have a great team and we are here to help.