Updated on 3/4/2022Grief is a common experience when we suffer a loss. Many people tend to think of grieving in terms of the death of a loved one. But the truth is, there are many differenttypes of grief. We canexperience grief after many typesof loss in life. For example, divorce, a friendship ending, or job loss can all result in us having feelings of grief. Grieving can cause sadness, regret, anger, and other emotions that might cause us to struggle.But grief isn’t just thefeelingswe experience. Rather, it’s a process we must go through in order to fully heal.Grief counselingcan offer a way to handle painful experiences in a healthy manner. Grief therapy techniques offer guidance and provide helpful tools for processing loss.Grief Counseling OnlineYou don’t have to wait for help processing your loss. Access grief counseling within daysStart here

Updated on 3/4/2022

Grief is a common experience when we suffer a loss. Many people tend to think of grieving in terms of the death of a loved one. But the truth is, there are many differenttypes of grief. We canexperience grief after many typesof loss in life. For example, divorce, a friendship ending, or job loss can all result in us having feelings of grief. Grieving can cause sadness, regret, anger, and other emotions that might cause us to struggle.

But grief isn’t just thefeelingswe experience. Rather, it’s a process we must go through in order to fully heal.Grief counselingcan offer a way to handle painful experiences in a healthy manner. Grief therapy techniques offer guidance and provide helpful tools for processing loss.

Grief Counseling OnlineYou don’t have to wait for help processing your loss. Access grief counseling within daysStart here

Grief Counseling OnlineYou don’t have to wait for help processing your loss. Access grief counseling within days

Grief Counseling Online

You don’t have to wait for help processing your loss. Access grief counseling within days

Start here

Types of Grief Therapy & Techniques

Just as people experience grieving in different manners, there are also multiple ways to process our grief. Grief therapy techniques offer varying approaches to dealing with loss. The type of therapy or technique that works best for anyone person greatly depends on a number of factors — like whether or not they’re dealing with prolonged grief (where you’re in a state of constant, chronic grief that you can’t get out of).

In some cases, a combination of grief therapy tools and techniques might result in a more effective outcome. Some of the grief therapy interventions that are available include:

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

2. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and commitment therapyhelps you learn to accept negative emotions and situations and then develop healthy patterns. It hones in on your ability to enhance psychological flexibility, so you can accept your feelings instead of trying to run away from them, feeling guilty about them, or avoiding them altogether. Psychological flexibility is the ability to be very present and in the moment in your life.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) uses mindfulness to help you process grief and accept loss. This type of therapy can be used for prolonged or complicated grief that lasts for a year or more after a loss occurs. ACT helps you reprocess a loss emotionally. It also helps you begin to process any emotions you might have been avoiding dealing with. ACT uses several grief therapy techniques to achieve acceptance and healing. These can include:

3. Traumatic grief therapy

Traumatic grief therapy allows you to process a sudden trauma-related grief – for example, losing a loved one unexpectedly. This form of therapy looks at trauma response and the grief that’s associated with a traumatic (usually unexpected) death.

4. Complicated grief therapy (CGT)

CGT involves learning to address the symptoms ofcomplicated grief. This form of grief may result in feelings of hopelessness and prolonged, intense sadness. Those experiencing complicated grief may fixate on the person they lost, or on the circumstances surrounding the death. CGT often includes acceptance and commitment therapy.

5. Group Therapy

Group therapyfor grief is when small groups of individuals gather to share thoughts and feelings with others who are also grieving. Often, groups are made up of people who’re recovering from similar experiences. Support groups can offer a brave and safespacefor you to share and heal in a confidential, supportive, loving environment.

6. Art therapy

Art therapyuses creativity to promote healing and help you process your grief. It can support, improve, and restore functioning and a sense of well-being. The idea behind art therapy is the belief that artistic and creative self-expression can have a healing effect on us. Painting, drawing, coloring, making collages, and even sculpting are all common activities during art therapy sessions.

7. Play therapy

Play therapy involves the use of imaginative or other types of play to help children process grief. It offers children a safe place to express their feelings while giving them tools that can help them self-regulate their emotions. Play therapy is optimal for children as they’re often unable to articulate feelings, emotions, and problems they’re experiencing, especially after a significant loss. Giving them an outlet to be able to express themselves can be hugely beneficial in their grief recovery.

“When I’m working with clients who are feeling deep grief, we focus on processing the experience and feeling all of our feelings, so we can integrate what has happened; integration is key to healing.”

Talkspace therapist Kate Rosenblatt, MA, LPC, LMHC

Grief Therapy ResourcesIf you’re looking for more information ongrief therapy techniques, you can talk to your doctor or therapist to find out more. Online resources for how tomanage griefare also available. By now you should have a good understanding of how grief therapy interventions work. You should also know what types of tools are available to assist you in working through your pain and loss, so you can go back to living a life free from debilitating grief.

Grief Therapy Resources

If you’re looking for more information ongrief therapy techniques, you can talk to your doctor or therapist to find out more. Online resources for how tomanage griefare also available. By now you should have a good understanding of how grief therapy interventions work. You should also know what types of tools are available to assist you in working through your pain and loss, so you can go back to living a life free from debilitating grief.

Sources:1. What isCognitive Behavioral Therapy?. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral. Published 2017. Accessed August 20, 2021.2. CBT’s Cognitive Restructuring (CR) For Tackling Cognitive Distortions. PositivePsychology.com.https://positivepsychology.com/cbt-cognitive-restructuring-cognitive-distortions/. Published 2021. Accessed August 20, 2021.3. Help G, Professionals F, Listed G et al. Grief Counseling: The Grief Process, Models of Grief, and Grief Therapy. Goodtherapy.org.https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/grief. Published 2019. Accessed August 20, 2021.4. 3 Grief Counseling Therapy Techniques & Interventions. PositivePsychology.com.https://positivepsychology.com/grief-counseling/. Published 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021.5. Wetherell J. Complicated grief therapy as a new treatment approach. NCBI.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384444/. Published 2012. Accessed August 20, 2021.

Sources:

  1. What isCognitive Behavioral Therapy?. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral. Published 2017. Accessed August 20, 2021.2. CBT’s Cognitive Restructuring (CR) For Tackling Cognitive Distortions. PositivePsychology.com.https://positivepsychology.com/cbt-cognitive-restructuring-cognitive-distortions/. Published 2021. Accessed August 20, 2021.3. Help G, Professionals F, Listed G et al. Grief Counseling: The Grief Process, Models of Grief, and Grief Therapy. Goodtherapy.org.https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/grief. Published 2019. Accessed August 20, 2021.4. 3 Grief Counseling Therapy Techniques & Interventions. PositivePsychology.com.https://positivepsychology.com/grief-counseling/. Published 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021.5. Wetherell J. Complicated grief therapy as a new treatment approach. NCBI.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384444/. Published 2012. Accessed August 20, 2021.

  2. What isCognitive Behavioral Therapy?. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral. Published 2017. Accessed August 20, 2021.

  3. CBT’s Cognitive Restructuring (CR) For Tackling Cognitive Distortions. PositivePsychology.com.https://positivepsychology.com/cbt-cognitive-restructuring-cognitive-distortions/. Published 2021. Accessed August 20, 2021.

  4. Help G, Professionals F, Listed G et al. Grief Counseling: The Grief Process, Models of Grief, and Grief Therapy. Goodtherapy.org.https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/grief. Published 2019. Accessed August 20, 2021.

  5. 3 Grief Counseling Therapy Techniques & Interventions. PositivePsychology.com.https://positivepsychology.com/grief-counseling/. Published 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021.

  6. Wetherell J. Complicated grief therapy as a new treatment approach. NCBI.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384444/. Published 2012. Accessed August 20, 2021.

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