Grief and loss counseling helps people grieve difficult losses including the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. It helps people navigate their grief process and eventually accept, understand, and move forward from their loss. Thriveworks grief therapists in Albuquerque, NM have specific experience, training, and skills that enable them to best support grieving individuals.
Grief and loss counseling isn’t one-size-fits-all, but it involves sharing about your loss and then working with your counselor to acknowledge and accept your new reality in its wake. Your provider at Thriveworks in Albuquerque, NM will design your treatment plan around your unique needs and goals for therapy, applying the counseling techniques that best support them.
If you have recently experienced an event like the death of a loved one, a breakup or divorce, the loss of a job, or another major life change, then you may want to seek grief and loss counseling. Grief can be caused by many experiences and events, so if you feel that you are having trouble moving on from a certain event or find that it is still impacting your life and functioning, grief and loss counseling can help you process it more effectively so that you can move on and once again find fulfillment and satisfaction in your life.
There are many counseling theories for treating grief, one of the most frequently used being the dual process model of grief which helps people acknowledge who or what they’ve lost through rumination while also adjusting to the new roles and identities that this loss has now placed on them. There are also many commonly used therapy approaches used in grief and loss counseling, including Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and traumatic grief therapy.
For many, grief and loss counseling lasts for about 6 months. For others, it may last shorter or longer, depending on the severity of their loss and their grief.
Though loss and grief are one of life’s certainties, it can also be a life-changing experience. Bearing the burden of grief is not something anyone should have to do alone. If you’re in need of comfort and support after a loss or during a period of hard transition, seeing a grief and loss counselor is one of the best things to do for yourself.
The grief and loss counselors at Thriveworks Counseling Albuquerque are trained and qualified to help you through the process of grieving. Using their skill and expertise, they can provide you with a tailored treatment plan and give you tools to manage your grief, as well as providing you with the solace and support you need. They are ready to help you in whatever capacity they can, offering both in-person counseling services and online therapy to fit your needs. Reach out today for help.
Do I Need Grief Therapy?
Grief is a lot to deal with on your own. It’s one of the hardest things in life to go through—it makes sense that you might need help getting through it. That being said, there are a few common reasons and signs that someone might need to go to grief therapy, such as when:
- You’ve experienced a loss or major life change: The pain of losing a loved one is intense and horrible, but the loss of a job, a divorce, losing a house, or even periods of transition can also bring on feelings of grief that can be hard to shake.
- Your grief is continuing to interfere with daily life: Grief often requires you to adjust to a huge change, and that adjustment is not a quick or linear process. However, if you feel like your grief continues to feel debilitating or moving on feels impossibly hard, it may be time to seek help from a mental health professional.
- You’re having trouble processing grief: Grief can feel overwhelming, and because of this, it can be difficult to know how—or even want to—sit in your intense feelings and process them as they come. A therapist can give you tools and a safe space to help you learn to access your grief, as well as let it go.
- You have depressive symptoms: If you are struggling to get out of bed, have a consistently low mood, feelings of guilt or hopelessness, and/or disinterest in normally enjoyable activities, you may be struggling with depression. In this case, it’s best to see a mental health professional to talk about your symptoms and decide on a treatment plan.
How Does Grief Therapy Work?
The goal of grief therapy is to help people come to terms with how their lives have changed after loss, moving through the pain, sadness, and frustration they feel and learning to accept their new reality.
To help you accomplish this, grief counselors employ a number of approaches, using them selectively depending on their effectiveness in certain situations. These approaches include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Through noticing these connections, you can discover negative patterns and work to change them.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): Though similar to CBT in that it has a focus on connecting thoughts and behaviors, the main tenet of ACT is to accept negative emotions in order to process and work through them rather than avoid them.
- Traumatic grief therapy: This type of therapy is mainly for those who experience a traumatic or sudden loss. It focuses both on the trauma responses that might be present as well as processing your grief.
- Mindfulness: Mindfulness is about coming to terms with reality and how your personal experiences truly make you feel through increasing our awareness of your emotions and thoughts. This in turn may highlight many negative emotional patterns and the issues they arise from, allowing them to then be addressed and treated.
Scheduling Grief Counseling at Thriveworks Albuquerque
You deserve support and care while you deal with your grief. The empathetic and professional grief counselors at Thriveworks Albuquerque can guide you through every step of the grieving process with steadfastness and compassion.
Thriveworks strives to provide comprehensive, quality care to our clients through our unique offerings and perspectives. We offer same-week appointments to new clients, evening and weekend scheduling options, in-person and online care, and most major insurances accepted.
Book a session at Thriveworks Albuquerque and begin your healing journey today.
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