Grief and Loss Therapy

Losing a loved one can leave a massive hole in your heart and cause your whole world to shift. Grief is a natural response to loss, but often comes with emotions that are strong and quickly changing. Because of that, it is incredibly helpful to see a licensed grief and loss therapist to help walk you through the process. 

The thing about grief is that we all experience it in different ways, which means that we all heal in different ways. Your grief is not going to look like someone else’s, and that’s okay. There is NO wrong way to grieve.

Working with a trained grief therapist can help you sort through the constant wave of emotions you might be dealing with, so you can make sense of what’s going on, and move forward. 

Before looking for a grief and loss therapist, it’s important to understand in a general way what grief looks like. 

Stages of Grief

While many discuss the various stages of grief, it’s important to note that those were originally written in regards to people walking through terminal illness. While they are not quite relevant to the grief process from a clinical standpoint, it is helpful to note that the stages of grief as outlined in the Kubler Ross model, are actually a good representation of the range of emotions one might experience when they have lost someone they love. 

While there is no clear cut process to loss and grief, it is not uncommon for a loss to lead to sadness, depression, denial, anger, fear, guilt, bargaining, and ultimately acceptance and hope. 

Everyone walks through these emotions in different ways. Some experience all of the above, while others only experience a handful. 

What is absolutely critical to coming out of grief and into a place of peace, is having the right support to walk you through whatever emotions and thoughts arise during your specific process of grief. 

Grief Comes From a Variety Of Places

Grief doesn’t always come from the death of a loved one, although that is an obvious loss. There are a lot of different experiences that can cause us to go through grief, including:

• Loss of a pet
• Miscarriage
• Adoption (birth parent + adopted child can both experience)
• Moving, or other big changes
• The sickness of a loved one (dementia, Alzheimer’s)
• Divorce

The loss of anything important to you can cause feelings of grief on various different levels. But there is a way to find peace and a new life after loss. Most often, you will need to process through your emotions with someone experienced in working with clients going through the grief process. 

Please note, there is no specific amount of time it should take you to “get over” a loss. There is no direct pathway to healing. That is why it’s so important for you to consider someone’s experience when choosing a therapist to walk you through grief and loss. 

Signs It’s Time to See A Therapist About Your Grief

All loss can lead to grief…big or small. 

There is no right or wrong time to see a therapist to help you work through feelings associated with your grief and loss. 

However, it is imperative that you seek help if you are experiencing any of the following: 

• You are having trouble going through your day to day life. You are forgetting things. You are overcome with emotion from out of nowhere. You are struggling to focus. Your daily quality of life is significantly hindered, and you feel lost in light of your grief.
• You are experiencing outbursts of extreme emotion and often feel as though they are unexplained. Whether it’s anger, sadness, or frustration, you feel as though your emotions are steamrolling you and you don’t know how to stop them from completely taking over.  
• You are experiencing depression. You have trouble getting out of bed, eating, or doing your normal day to day activities. Your sadness feels like a heavy blanket that you can’t get out from under. It is a weight you’ve never experienced before.
• You are dealing with anxiety. Your anxiety is keeping you from experiencing life and living with the joy and freedom you once had. 
• You just need someone to talk to you. You don’t want to be “fixed” and you don’t want to be judged for how you are feeling. You just want a listening ear to support you, and lead you through your emotions so you can reclaim some joy and peace after a loss. 

Working with a trained grief and loss therapist like the ones we have at Life Insight Hinsdale can help you process through what’s going on, so you can deal with your emotions, and begin finding some joy and peace in your day to day life. Our therapists are not only licensed and trained to help you deal with your loss and the grief that coincides with loss, but they have years of experience doing so. We understand that grief looks different for everyone, and we individualize our therapy to focus on where you currently are and where you want to be. 

Life is never quite the same after loss, but working with a trained therapist can help you create a new normal that you are comfortable with. 

If you are in the Hinsdale area and would like to speak with one of our experienced grief counselors, we’d love to get you set up with an appointment. We have walked countless men and women through all kinds of loss and grief, and would love to be there for you in this difficult season. We make the process as seamless and simple as possible, so you can focus on processing through what’s happened, and moving through the feelings with intentionality and hope.

To book an appointment, fill out the form below.