GRIEF & LOSS

What to expect: Therapy for grief and loss does not always have to be about the death of a loved one. Individuals, couples, and families can engage in therapy for grief and loss to address all kinds of losses: emotional, physical, material, relational, and much more. When beginning therapy to address loss and grief, the initial session will focus on the loss, it's meaning to you, and how it has impacted you. The loss will be considered in the broader context of your personal history and your current life.

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Loss is part of life. Loss of a loved one through death or separation. Loss of a relationship. Loss of a way of life. Loss of a job or career. Loss of health or independence. Loss of a dream. Losses can come suddenly or with the knowledge that this was coming for a longer period of time. Some losses occurred a long time ago but have not yet been grieved. 

 

Someone affected by loss and grief might feel sad, angry, hopeless, guilty, confused, or even numb. They may experience feelings of guilt, shame, or responsibility related to the loss. All of these difficult emotions are normal and understandable reactions to the loss of someone or something important. 

 

Grief can look like irritability, frustration, avoidance, as well as more expected sadness, tears, or depression. It can look like all of these within the same day! Some people continue on with life and seem unchanged by their grief, but it doesn’t mean that grief doesn’t have an impact. 

 

Many people are familiar with the five stages of grief, proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. You may wonder where you are in these stages or if you will ever get to the end of your grief. You may feel stuck in one stage or you may feel that these proposed stages do not apply to you and your unique situation. 

 

A therapist can help you recognize and understand the mixed emotions you may be experiencing due to the loss, providing a safe place to explore and consider what the loss means for you. Going through grief and loss therapy, you can expect to learn skills to help you cope with the difficult feelings that come with loss, understand that grief is not a linear process, expand your range of helpful coping skills, leave behind ways of coping that have not helped, and understand that all emotions are normal and healthy aspects of being human. 

 

It is never too late, or too early, to address your grief and loss through therapy. Losses will impact our lives and even change us, but they are not the end and they don’t have to define us. By working through your loss and the grief that comes with it, you can find healthy ways of coping, giving yourself space and permission to experience grief, and continue on after your loss as more of the person you want to be.

 

It is possible to process these difficult feelings, find a new way of viewing your loss, while also building a new life beyond it. If you are ready to begin the process of working through and understanding your grief and feelings of loss, please contact us. 

 

Call us now to book a 15-minute free consultation, or to schedule your first appointment with our Grief and Loss therapist, Jennifer Polizzi.