Grief Counselling Edmonton
Understanding therapy for grief and loss
Mendable Psychology provides Edmonton grief counselling. Often those experiencing loss are hesitant about attending counselling as they cannot imagine finding comfort in anything. Your world has been turned upside down since the loss and it can feel like you are treading water trying to stay afloat.
For many people, it is difficult that everyday life continues when you are grieving. When you have been impacted by life altering events you need time and space to process strong feelings. You may find that you are not ready to return to the tasks of everyday life. You will be faced with adapting to a new future after your loss. Sometimes, people find that they struggle to talk about their grief for fear of worrying or upsetting others. After a loss, it is also common that people limit sharing with others to avoid cliché responses that feel invalidating.
Grief and Trauma
Trauma and grief often go hand in hand but are two separate responses with different clusters of reactions. Symptoms of trauma are changes to one’s response as the result of a highly distressing event. This can include being overly (or under) sensitized to environmental cues, having a negative view of the world and sense of safety, and strong efforts to avoid internal and external triggers.
Grief, on the other hand, is more characterized by a sense of longing for the person, animal, or thing that has been lost. Those who are grieving may search for the person who is gone, have difficulty remembering they are no longer around, and expect to find their loved one in the locations where they previously existed.
Types of Grief and Loss
Loss of a loved one
Losing a loved one is an emotionally challenging experience that can evoke a range of intense feelings. The grieving process is unique to each person as well as the individual dynamics of the relationship they have lost. Theses differences, understandably are part of the reason the grieving process and duration varies.
Loss of a pet
For many people, dogs, cats, and other pets are considered a part of the family. Losing a pet can be a tremendous source of grief, especially if the pet and owner had a close bond. Typical pet lifespans vary and the loss of a pet before the expected lifespan or difficulty coming to terms with end of life choices for your pet can also impact the loss.
Separation, Divorce, and Break ups
Relationships, even those that end of the best terms, can be a source of grief and loss. Divorce, separation, and break ups can be life-altering events which may evoke a range of intense emotions, including sadness, anger, confusion, and a sense of loss. Individuals undergoing such transitions may grapple with the dismantling of expectations and dreams tied to the relationship, leading to a process of mourning.
Complex and Prolonged Grief
Prolonged grief, also known as complicated grief or persistent complex bereavement disorder, is a mental health diagnosis marked by a prolonged and intense grieving period that extends beyond the typical duration expected for grief. While grief is a natural and individual process, prolonged grief appears to include qualities which follow a somewhat different trajectory than the majority of loss. Those grappling with prolonged grief often find it challenging to reconcile with the loss, contending with enduring emotions of emptiness, disbelief, and emotional anguish.
Professional Loss
Professional grief and loss, is an often overlooked and significant aspect of the human experience, particularly within certain professions such as healthcare, emergency and social services, or counselling. Individuals working in these fields may encounter repeated exposure to death, trauma, and witnessing suffering of immediate family members. Grief in professional settings can be hard to process when expectations around stoicism, professionalism, and a sense of distance from the loss exist. These experiences can lead to a unique form of grief related to the emotional toll of their work.
Ambiguous Grief
Ambiguous grief and loss represent a unique and often challenging aspect of the human experience. Unlike more clearly defined losses, such as death, ambiguous loss lacks a clear endpoint or resolution, leaving individuals grappling with uncertainty and conflicting emotions. This type of loss can manifest in various forms, such as when a loved one is experiencing dementia, addiction, or other mental health concerns; losses and endings without closure; and reproductive concerns including infertility. The process may include exploring ways to find meaning and create a sense of continuity despite the uncertainty.
Anticipatory Grief
Anticipatory grief refers to the emotional response individuals experience when anticipating an impending loss. This could be the loss of a loved one, typically due to a terminal illness or a significant life change. Caregivers may experience anticipatory grief both for themselves and for the person they are caring for even outside of a terminal prognosis. Grieving a loss that has not fully completed is often complicated by secondary emotions – that is, self-judgement of the initial emotional experience. For example, a feeling of frustration that the loss is occurring slowly or a feeling of relief after the loss are commonly met with a secondary emotion such as shame or guilt for feeling this way.
How is Grief Treated in Therapy?
Grief is a natural process that most everyone will eventually experience. There are several different approaches that can be used to help process grief. Grief approaches typically include talking about the loss, sharing stories both positive and negative of memories you have, and finding ways true to your relationship to memorialize the loss, and integrate the loss into a new and changed future.
Therapy can be a safe place to slow down and unpack many of the mixed and conflicting emotions you may be feeling and to honour yourself in the grieving process. Therapy can also help to develop optimism that the grieving process is ever evolving and that you will not always feel the way you feel now. Finally, others, both inside and outside of grief, may project ideas about how grief should look; an important aspect of grief work in therapy is developing boundaries, to care for yourself, and allow you what you need to heal.
EMDR Therapy for Grief
EMDR Therapy is a type of therapy approach that uses bilateral (side-to-side) movements to help process distress and replace with more helpful beliefs. Although EMDR was originally developed specifically as an approach to the treatment of trauma, it has since gained support in several other areas including grief.
Addressing prolonged grief necessitates an understanding of its specific characteristics, including an enduring yearning for the deceased, struggles in accepting the reality of the loss, and persistent emotional distress.
Take a peak at our blog for more grief education and information
Check out grief specific content posts including:
View a full list of articles at Mendable Blog
