What is grief counselling?
Grief counselling or bereavement therapy is a type of psychotherapy that can help individuals cope with loss, such as the death of a loved one or a pet.
Loss is an inevitable reality that everyone has to experience at some stage of their life. However, everyone has their own way of grieving after a loss.
Losing a loved one can be a challenging situation to navigate, with a lot of complex feelings and emotions involved, making it hard for you to make sense of it all.
Grief doesn’t only occur after the loss of a loved one. Other types of loss or life-changing events can also trigger it. For example, unemployment, divorce, miscarriage, a chronic or terminal illness affecting you or a loved one, having a child with a disability, etc.
Grief counselling helps individuals come to terms with a loss or life-changing event, build resilience, and develop a sense of acceptance, enabling them to move forward with their lives in a positive way. It uses a mix of techniques, such as CBT and psychotherapy, to help you develop coping mechanisms and navigate the dark waters of your grieving process with strength, resilience, and hope.
Stages of grief
The 5 stages of grief according to the Kübler-Ross model proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in 1969 are:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
How do people react to grief?
Everyone reacts to grief differently. Responses to grief can be both emotional and physical.
Emotional responses:
- Sadness
- Shock
- Anger
- Hopelessness
- Loneliness
- Detachment
- Denial
- Guilt
Physical responses:
- Headaches
- Tiredness
- Body pains
- Stomachache
- Loss of sleep or appetite
Who should consider grief counselling?
While loss is a challenge for everyone, in some cases, the impact of grief is severe or even life-threatening, necessitating grief counselling. Concerning signs include:
- Experiencing suicidal thoughts
- Not being able to perform daily activities
- Feeling depressed
- Constantly dwelling in the past
- Having relationship issues because of the grief
- Neglecting oneself
- Impaired physical health
Grief counselling techniques
Several techniques can be used in grief therapy, such as:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
CBT changes thought patterns to influence behaviors. In grief counselling, it aids in recognizing unhelpful thoughts like self-blame and guilt and learning healthier coping strategies. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in establishing acceptance and building resilience.
Acceptance and commitment therapy
ACT helps people accept their grief instead of suppressing it. The acknowledgment of grief helps people come to terms with their feelings and work on building a life after loss.
Art therapy
This technique uses creative activities to help people express and thus process their grief. Art therapy is also effective in managing emotions like stress and anxiety and promoting self-awareness.
Group therapy
Group therapy brings people dealing with grief together, allowing for collective healing. It provides individuals with a safe space to talk about their emotions and learn coping strategies from people in a similar situation.
Play therapy
Play therapy is particularly effective for children who might otherwise suppress their emotions. Through play, children express their emotions and understand their loss. Play is also helpful in reducing stress levels in grieving children.
Traumatic grief therapy
TGT is effective in processing sudden and traumatic loss. It helps people regulate their emotions and soothe their nervous system. Traumatic grief therapy is also effective in helping people adjust to their loss and reintegrate into their daily lives.
Benefits of grief counselling
There are several benefits of grief counselling in Dubai, including:
Improved physical health
Grief can have a grave impact on physical health, especially when people neglect themselves. As grief symptoms improve, physical health tends to improve as well.
Better mental health
Grief counselling helps people moderate their emotions and accept their pain, which helps improve their mental health. Otherwise, unchecked mental health issues like depression and anxiety have a significant impact on their quality of life. In cases where people experience suicide ideation, grief counselling can be lifesaving.
Closure
Grief counselling helps people find closure, so they can come to terms with their loss and move on with their lives.
Learn coping skills
Bereavement counselling helps people learn coping strategies and skills to live with their loss.
Provides a support system
A grief counselor provides a good support system through the challenging grief process.
Prevents unresolved grief
Unresolved grief can severely impact a person’s well-being. Counselling prevents people from harboring their grief and prevents future complications of unresolved grief.
Trauma treatment
The loss of a loved one is a trauma itself, but when the loss is sudden, tragic, or an accident, the emotion becomes even more intense. Grief counseling helps in treating the trauma, which is even more significant considering the impact of unresolved trauma.
Availing grief counseling services in Dubai
Grief is a difficult experience and processing it can be challenging. Even though the cultural and familial environment in Dubai provides people with care through the grieving period, grief counseling services in Dubai can be effective in giving tailored support.
How can I get grief counselling Dubai?
Platforms such as Counsel Clinic provide online grief counselling Dubai, empowering you to get mental health support from experienced grief counsellors on the go or from home. You can also visit a grief counsellor in Dubai for an in-person session.
Grief counsellors are licensed professionals trained to help you deal with the intense emotions associated with the loss of a loved one or a life-altering event.
