Grief Counselling Gold Coast

While loss is an inevitable part of life, it is something that most of us are quite frankly – terrified – to experience. Grief Counselling can assist with the human reaction to loss, and can influence the physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioural and spiritual aspects of our lives.

Most people associate grieving with the loss of a loved one, but grieving can include other significate life changes or losses, such as, changes in your health or the health of a loved one, the loss of a pet, divorce or changes in a relationship, including friendships, losing a job or changes in financial security.

How you experience grief can depend on many factors including, personality, coping style, life experience, faith, how significant the loss was to you, how sudden (or prolonged) the loss was.

Grieving is a highly individual experience and many different emotions can be experienced at anytime. Once you allow yourself to feel your grief and work through it, some may start to feel better in a matter of weeks, others may take some months, or years. Whatever your grief experience, it’s important to be patient with yourself and allow the process to unfold.

Some people learn to manage their grief and adjust to their loss in their own time, and others may experience prolonged or complicated grief reactions and get great benefit out of professional grief counselling.

Fortunately, the Gold Coast is home to some highly skilled, knowledgeable, and professional grief counsellors, that are passionate about helping you adjust to your loss and cope with your grief. CBT’s highly experienced Clinical team are skilled in diagnosing and treating a range of concerns, including grief.

WHAT ARE THE STAGES OF GRIEF?

When dealing with loss, it can be helpful to learn more about the grieving process.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist and pioneer of studies on dying people, Kübler-Ross wrote “On Death and Dying,” the 1969 book in which she proposed the patient-focused, death-adjustment pattern: the “Five Stages of Grief.” Those stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Though applied for many years to grieving friends and family members – grief turned out to not be so simple.

Studies now show that these stages are not in ‘lock-step’ fashion. As a result, when we lose someone we love, we can experience a multitude of emotions, or we may not even experience some of these. Similarly, we can be slow to accepting what has happened, or race through every emotion. Grieving can also mean adding or repeating stages.

It is more helpful to think of grief as being more fluid – grief comes in waves, like an ocean of emotion. A wave refers to going up and down, and back and forth. There is no certainty to the movement; often unexpected. Grief comes in waves, sometimes when you least expect it.

There is no right way to grieve. The previous five stages have made people criticise themselves for not ‘grieving properly’. Though Kubler-Ross’ work is not to be used stage, for stage, it does outline important lessons; A little denial is natural, grief can shake our faith and grief usually leads to acceptance.

HOW GRIEF COUNSELLING CAN HELP?

If you are feeling overwhelmed by grief or loss, you do not have to go through it alone. Grief Counselling is available to support and carefully guide you through the grieving process.

Grief Counselling varies based on both the practitioner’s skills and preference, and the client’s needs. Grief counsellors will often ask you to talk them through the loss you have experienced as well as the emotions, behaviours and physical changes you may be experiencing. There are a number of useful approaches which may include:

1. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT therapy focuses on reframing emotions and issues, so they can be managed. CBT for grief counselling can be designed to help reconcile the loss and learn how to re-build your life. Techniques can include graded exposure to feared situations over time, in a controlled manner to confront thoughts; increasing pleasant events; and challenging unhelpful or irrational thoughts.

2. Traditional Talk Therapy

Building a trusted relationship with a counsellor and over time, discussing emotions and experiences with that person in a safe space.

3. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

This therapy focuses on how you can train your mind to accept that negative or uncomfortable feelings may surface as a natural and core part of the human experience, such as grief, by acknowledging them as being present, but not allowing them control your thoughts, emotions and behaviours.

WHERE DO I FIND GRIEF COUNSELLING GOLD COAST?

Looking to start Grief Counselling on the Gold Coast? CBT Professionals offers sensitive and tailored Grief Counselling services.

Across all three of our convenient practice locations, our clinical team are all highly experienced, knowledgeable and passionate, with a vision to help individuals that have been through tough life changes, such as grief.

Our newest addition to the CBT Professionals Coomera clinical team, Kim, brings 20 years of experience and has a special interest in providing support to people who have experienced a significant life change such as health issues, grief, and loss. She aims to provide them with knowledge, skills, and strategies to manage the adjustment more effectively. She works on values of integrity, kindness, and compassion, helping you each step of the way through your treatment journey.

Contact us now via telephone or online enquiry via www.cbtprofessionals.com.au to book an appointment and take that first step to working through your grief.

• Coomera – (07) 5551 0251
• Nerang – (07) 5668 3490
• Mount Gravatt – (07) 3102 1366

If you, or someone you know, required urgent help for grief, please reach out to organisations like Beyond Blue. Or call the mental health helpline on 1300 22 4636. If this is an emergency, please contact 000 or visit your local emergency department.

Disclaimer: Firstly, content on this website is provided for education and information purposes only and is not intended to replace advise from your doctor or registered health professional. Secondly, readers are urged to consult their registered practitioner for diagnosis and treatment for their medical concerns. Lastly, CBT are not an emergency service, please call 000 in an emergency.