• Mental Health

Grief Therapy: Finding Support After Loss and Difficult Times

Everyone experiences grief at some point in their life. Grief can manifest itself in different ways in a person’s life. Some people may need to take time from work and school, while others may need additional support outside of their family. Grief counseling is a form of psychotherapy (talk therapy) for people who have recently experienced loss.

What is Grief Therapy?

Grief therapy — commonly known as grief counseling — is a form of psychotherapy for people who need help coping with grief. It’s often some people’s first experience seeing a therapist. A licensed therapist can help walk you through the five stages of grief.

What are the five stages of grief?

Grief is not linear for anyone. People may experience the following stages of grief at different points of their grief journey. 

It’s important to not feel pressure to rush into your healing stage before experiencing the following five stages of grief:

• Denial: During this stage, it can be hard to accept a loss in your life. Some people may pretend that a death has never happened to better cope with reality.

• Anger: You may feel a wide range of emotions when someone you love passes away. Anger as a form of grief may manifest itself in feeling rageful at the unfairness of the situation. 

• Bargaining: This stage in your grief process may include a lot of reflection on what has happened. There may be a point where you question fate and why the series of events has happened.

• Depression: When the reality of what has happened sets in, you may feel a deep sadness over the loss and a yearning for the person you’re mourning.

• Acceptance: During this last stage of grief, you accept what has happened and do what you can to move forward while honoring the memory of that person.

Group therapy for grief and loss

In addition to feeling support from a licensed mental health provider, it can also be helpful to be around people going through a similar life experience as you. Like individual talk therapy. 

Every type of counseling is about walking you through your experience with grief and loss. Both experiences help you find healthy ways to cope with the loss and also hold space for the memory of the person.

What is complicated grief therapy?

Complicated grief therapy is a combination of techniques from traditional talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This form of therapy is ideal for people who have a relationship with grief that feels overwhelming and can get in the way of everyday life.

It’s a gradual process of reframing your memory of that person from the relationship you had with them when they were in your life.

Complicated grief therapy centers around the following major focal points:

• Accepting your grief and the negative emotions that come along with it

• Finding places or habits in your life that help you feel connected to that person in a healthy way

• Strengthening relationships you have with people in your life you love

• Creating a safe connection with memories of the past

• Learning how to tell old stories and process the emotions that come along with them

Techniques for Managing Grief and Loss

A therapist tailors treatment based on each individual experience and personality. However, there are a range of techniques that are standardized across grief counseling:

• Journaling: A therapist may ask you to keep a grief journal in the early stages of your treatment. In a journal, you can document and express shifts in your emotions as you go on your grief journey.

• Talking about your loss: In the beginning stages of grief, it can be difficult to talk openly about someone you have lost. Through dialogue with your therapist, you can get to a point of being more comfortable with bringing the person up in conversation.

• Managing guilt: Some people may feel guilty about continuing to live their life after experiencing a major loss. 

• Developing coping strategies for reminders: A therapist can help you come up with ways to cope or manage your emotions when a place, sound, or object suddenly reminds you of someone you’ve lost.

This list of techniques are not the only ones that exist. Keep an open mind of different strategies that may work for you depending on your life story. Some people may benefit from different forms of trauma-based therapy that incorporate music, dance, and other modes of expression to cope.

How to Find a Therapist for Grief and Loss

Take your time finding a therapist that makes you feel safe and comfortable to open up to. You may have to see more than one therapist before you find someone that truly makes you want to open up. Many therapists offer free consultations for a chance to see if they are the therapist for you without the financial burden. 

Where Can I Learn More About Caring for my Mental Health?

Many local organizations may offer mental health support through free counseling. If receiving help in person is not an option, LifeMD can help you learn more about your mental health and provide a space for you to take the first step.

LifeMD works with insurance plans that cover mental health services for at least 95% of our patients. Still, there are tips and alternate options for care for people without health insurance.

Get started today on your healing journey with a licensed professional.

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