Bereavement & Grief Counseling in New Jersey
No one can totally prepare us for losing a loved one. Even when we’ve experienced loss before, each loss is different and unique.
You might be wondering:
- "Am I grieving the right way?"
- "How long will this pain last?"
- "Am I losing control or going insane?"
Grief can feel frightening. You don’t have to keep thoughts like these inside anymore. It helps to share your grief and pain with someone who truly understands.
What is grief?
Grief is the natural reaction to loss.
Everyone grieves, copes, and adapts in their own way. When a loved one dies, it's natural to feel a whole range of mixed emotions like sadness, guilt, anger, and anxiety. We may feel shock and disbelief, confused, lost, numb, and incompetent. We may start developing physical problems, panic attacks, and have trouble staying present around others. We can be flooded with thoughts and images of our loved one, making it very difficult to concentrate on even simple tasks. The feelings of yearning and longing for a loved one can be so painful and we worry that this pain will never end.
Contrary to popular belief, our grief does not progress through a series of predictable stages and is then complete. Those 5 stages, developed by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, describe what a dying person may go through. Although a person grieving may experience similarities like denial, anger, and depression, grief is like a rollercoaster. Grief is permanent. It doesn’t end at the 1 year mark.
What is Prolonged Grief?
Prolonged Grief is intense and persistent grief symptoms that do not lessen over time.
The loss of a loved one, whether expected or unexpected, is traumatic. Everyone has intense thoughts and feelings after losing someone so special to them. There is a natural adaptation process that we all go through after a loss. But sometimes that process gets blocked.
Even as months and years pass, it feels like the death just occurred and the bereaved person has trouble integrating the loss into their life and moving forward.
When it feels like our grief isn’t improving, it’s normal to feel frustrated. It’s common for family and friends to feel frustrated too and no longer know how to help. Some may even be unsupportive and make you feel worse.
You don’t have to feel embarrassed or ashamed by your grief. Healing is possible.
How Grief Counseling Works
Using Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (PGDT), I’ll help you resolve the things complicating your grief and help get the natural adaptation process back on track. I can help you learn how to live with your grief while feeling more connected to your loved one. Our work together will not only focus on adapting and coping with your loss, but we’ll work on finding yourself again and reconnecting with the world while honoring your loved one.
We'll work together to:
Normalize Grief & Manage pain
I will help you learn about grief and your specific grief response. I will help you manage your emotional pain, live with reminders, and manage difficult times like anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays.
Share Your Story
I will help you share your story and work through the thoughts and feelings that trouble you the most about the death.
Find Yourself Again
I can help you integrate the loss into your life so you feel freer to move about your day and pursue goals for yourself again. I can help you reenter the world and find some purpose, meaning, joy and satisfaction in life again.
Feel More Connected To Your Loved One
Be able to recall memories without intense pain and find ways to honor your loved one.