Grief Counselling

Grief is an experience in response to the loss of something or someone valuable in our life. The loss can come in different forms - e.g., loss of a loved one, loss of a job or an object, an end to a relationship or friendship. Everyone experiences grief differently, and it manifests in our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. There is no right or wrong way of experiencing or responding to grief and loss.

 For a long time, grief has been conceptualised as the “Five stages of Grief”, ranging from denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Nonetheless, more recent understandings of grief indicates that our experience of grief cannot be reduced to these five stages in such a linear way.

 Grief can be a very personal experience. Therefore, it is often helpful to understand grief based on our own circumstance and personal vulnerabilities. Making sense of grief and our losses in a meaningful way with a psychologist is a great start. Following this, we can then learn how to grow with and make room for this experience in an adaptive way.