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 Worcester, MA 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 Worcester, MA 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.
Grief and Loss Counseling in Worcester, MA—Counselors and Therapists
The bottom line is that grief and loss can be gut-wrenching. Getting through this tough time requires patience, support, and a lot of love. When opening up feels hard or if you don’t want to feel like a burden to others, there are grief counselors who can step in to help. Not only will grief counseling give you a way to express your feelings, but you will be given tools to use as you move forward towards a place of peace. Thriveworks Counseling in Worcester has licensed grief counselors who provide the compassionate and understanding care you may be looking for. Call (508) 409-6134 to schedule an appointment.
Stages of Grief
Grief happens differently for everyone. Some experience all of the different stages of grief rapidly while others may take months, even years, to cope with a loss. Although we think of death as the only reason to grieve, we can also grieve a lost job, a divorce, and even moving out of an old home. No matter the situation, there are resources to help you out along the way. In general, there are five stages of grief. They are:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
Symptoms of Grief
The way you move through the stages of grief is unique to you. It might not be as simple as it sounds. Through each stage of grief, you might feel a mix of different emotions, pain being one of the most prevalent. When it gets to be too much, we can get stuck in one of the stages without the ability to move forward towards acceptance. Because of this, it can be very hard to do alone. If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms, it might be worth reaching out:
- Suicidal thoughts
- Depression
- A small or weak support system
- Numbness of emotion
- Inability to move or get out of bed
- Forcing busy work to distract yourself
- Sudden changes in behavior such as mood swings, trouble sleeping, or abnormal eating habits
- Pushing away friends or family
- Hesitancy or fear in pursuing new relationships
- Trouble finding joy in activities you once loved
How Does Grief Counseling Work?
You may be wondering how a psychologist could help you grieve. Thriveworks Worcester has some techniques that can be used to help. Our psychologists are highly skilled in this field and have the skills needed to offer you compassionate and thorough care. Some of our specialty techniques include:
- Talk therapy
- Art and music therapy
- How to develop new relationships or rekindle old ones
- Adapting to a new role
- Exercise therapy
- Managing changes in behavior
- Coping tools
- Reaching out to friends and family
We are a client-oriented practice. That means that your unique situation and personality are crucial to the way we provide you care. It also allows our psychologists to connect with you on a deeper level and provide you with more meaningful relationships. If something isn’t working for you, we can change it. No matter what, we have your back.
Schedule an Appointment with a Grief Counselor at Thriveworks in Worcester, MA
If you think you could benefit from grief counseling, schedule an appointment with Thriveworks in Worcester. You can book online through our online booking portal or by calling our office at (508) 409-6134. We have flexible scheduling options in the evenings and on weekends and online appointments available, too. Our goal is to work with your schedule so you can get the help you need when you need it. Reach out today to get started.
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