Grief Counselling

GRIEF COUNSELLING in EDMONTON

“Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.”

Vicki Harrison

Grief Counselling in Edmonton

HEAL, COPE & FEEL RELIEF

Our empathetic team of Grief Counselling Psychologists support many families in the Greater Edmonton area with grieving and healing after a loss.

Grief is a natural response to loss. Though it’s often thought of in relation to death, grief can occur with any type of loss that you may experience. It might be the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a relationship, job, or something else entirely. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. Research suggests that there are 5 stages of grief where we tend to experience all kinds of difficult, unexpected emotions, from shock or anger, to fear, disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. There are all normal reactions to loss – and often, the more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be.

Even subtle losses in life can trigger a sense of grief. For example, you might grieve after moving away from home, graduating from college, or changing jobs. Whatever the cause of your grief may be, there are healthy ways to cope with the pain that, in time, can ease your sadness and help you come to terms with your loss, find new meaning, build resilience, and eventually move on with your life.

Inevitably, the grieving process takes time. Healing happens gradually; it can’t be forced or hurried – and there is no “normal” timetable for grieving. It is important to be patient and compassionate with yourself and allow the process to naturally unfold.

The pain of grief can often cause you to want to withdraw from others. However, research shows that having the face-to-face support of other people is vital to healing from loss. Sharing your loss with others can make the burden of grief easier to carry, as you feel comfort in knowing that you are not alone.

Grief Counselling can help with:

Coping with stress & overwhelm due to grief
Processing sadness, longing, anger & regret
Rebuilding your self-identity & life around the loss
Addressing unresolved issues or problems
Returning to everyday functioning
Processing the loss
Repairing & healing your heart

Types of Loss:

Coping with grief is one of life’s biggest challenges, but there are healthy ways to cope with your grief and heal. Any loss can cause grief, including:

Loss of a loved one
Divorce, separation, or romantic relationship breakup
Miscarriage
Loss of health or abilities / chronic disease or pain
A loved one’s serious illness
Death of a pet
Loss of a friendship
Loss of a job
Loss of financial stability
Retirement
Selling the family home
Adult children moving out of the home (empty nesting)
Loss of safety after trauma

Experiencing Grief

Everyone will experience the process of grieving within their lifetime. Having a reliable, compassionate support system is essential to healing and recovery. We never truly forget about our losses, but rather, we learn to rebuild our life surrounding the loss, allowing us to move forward in a healthy, productive and meaningful manner.

Disorders Related to Grieving:

Coping with the emotions and experiences of grieving can be challenging, and sometimes can lead to complicated grief or other related disorders. Whether you need to process your loss, rebuild your life or learn to manage a whole lot more, our grief counsellors are here to guide you along the way. They not only specialize in grief counselling, but also provide evidence-based therapeutic strategies to help you cope with depression, PTSD, and other mental health disorders that may accompany grief.

Prolonged Grief Disorder

If you have been significantly struggling with the loss of someone close to you for at least one year (6 months for children and teens), you may be diagnosed with Prolonged Grief Disorder. This is a relatively new disorder that the American Psychiatric Association has included in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR).

Prolonged Grief Disorder can involve:

An intense yearning or longing for the person
Constantly thinking about the person or memories involving that person (may become preoccupied with circumstances of the death)
Feeing as if you've lost a part of yourself
Intense sadness, anger, sorrow, loneliness or emotional numbness
Feeling that life is meaningless
Disbelief about the death
Avoiding reminders indicating that the person has passed away
Difficulty engaging with friends or partaking in enjoyable activities
Difficulty planning for the future
Significant impairment in day to day functioning (work, school, social activities, eating, sleeping) *You may be off work due to the loss.

Major Depressive Disorder:

As experiencing loss can be debilitating, a common comorbid disorder is Major Depressive Disorder. Symptoms may look like: feeling intense sadness, lack of motivation, difficulties with concentration, suicidal ideation, emptiness and hopefulness, fatigue, angry outbursts / irritability / frustration, and loss of interest in usually enjoyable activities.

Anticipatory Grief:

When you acknowledge that you will lose someone in the near future, you may experience Anticipatory Grief. This involves experiencing the emotions and thoughts associated with grief and loss before you actually lose someone. This type of grief can be understood as grieving the loss of the life you had imagined together, and the hope and dreams that you had for this person. We often see this when someone close to us is diagnosed with a terminal illness or when there are pregnancy complications and anticipated perinatal loss.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):

Experiencing intense loss can also result in PTSD, particularly if the loss was traumatic. It may be difficult to regulate your nervous system as you may easily become triggered when reminded of the incident. PTSD may involve: flashbacks, distressing thoughts of the event, physical signs of stress, nightmares, avoiding reminders of the event, being easily startled, hypervigilance, difficulty with concentration or memory, ongoing negative emotions, social isolation, or difficulty experiencing positive emotions.

Our Grief Counsellors are here to support you through your journey of healing.

Therapists who specialize in Grief Counselling in Edmonton:

Our compassionate team of Edmonton-based Grief Counsellors are here for you. During your grief counselling sessions, your therapist may draw upon Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Somatic Experiencing Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy or EMDR, among other modalities best suited to help you heal and feel like yourself again. When working with children, they may include aspects of Art or Play-Based Therapy.