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GRIEF COUNSELLING
What is grief counselling?
Grief is not a mental disorder. Though it looks like depression, the pain is usually temporary, and something everyone goes through at one point or another. Typically grief occurs after the loss of a loved one or a pending loss, such as with a recent terminal disease diagnosis.
How can grief counselling help me?
Dr. Michael Dadson will focus on the development of your coping skills or enhancing existing coping skills for stress management and a variety of other mental health issues during your counselling sessions. Dr. Dadson offers a wide range of techniques and therapies to assist people to develop coping skills, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
What can I do to cope with grief?
Dr. Michael Dadson always seeks to respect each person’s uniqueness, understanding that each of us is different and we heal in different ways. For more information about the development of coping skills, contact Dr. Mike Dadson.
What are the five stages of grief?
DENIAL
Denial helps us temporarily cope with loss; it is a short-term state of avoiding the pain of loss; it is painful, and our instant reaction is often to deny the possibility of the reality which, if true, can cause unimaginable pain. As your strength returns, the denial phase will fade.
ANGER
Anger is most commonly accepted as stage two of the grief and loss process. It is best to lean into your emotions and find a healthy outlet such as exercise, for example, or art projects which allow you to express your anger. The more you allow yourself to feel, the sooner you can release and move through the anger phase.
BARGAINING
Entering into stage three, releasing your anger and replacing the bitter anger with the hope that comes with prayer, plea and wishing for an alternate reality from the cause of pain. Ifs, pleases, prayers fill the grief-stricken person with temporary relief from the pain. There is no way of knowing how long each phase will last, or even in which order.
There is not a linear path in the healing process. You may flip and flop between the various phases of the stages of grief.
DEPRESSION
Depression is an appropriate response to great loss: counselling and therapy help us process this depression and actively work towards a life past the pain of grief and the stages of healing. Once all attempts and hopes of bargaining fade, we move into the present and this is where our pain exists. Empty feelings present themselves, and grief enters our lives on a deeper level, deeper than we ever imagined. This depressive stage feels as though it will last forever.
ACCEPTANCE
We may start to reach out to others and become involved in their lives. We invest in our friendships and in our relationship with ourselves. We begin to live again, but we cannot do so until we have given grief its time.
Eventually we accept loss; we find a way to go on and find joy. We learn to live with the loss, as we must do, for all those who still need us, and for ourselves too.
More about Grief and Bereavement Coping Skills and Approaches to Therapy
Grief Counselling
During grief counselling, people are taught how to develop a new sense of self after a loss
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Types of Counselling Available
Individual
One-on-one options for individuals needing help in overcoming issues or maintaining optimal mental health in their lives' daily challenges.
Couples
Couples counselling can be challenging, but the positive impact on your relationship, potential family members, and other external relationships in your life make it worth the effort.
Family
Father and child or entire family counselling can provide your family with the tools, language, and behaviour to successfully communicate and overcome obstacles.