WHAT HAPPENS IN BEREAVEMENT COUNSELLING?
Initial Assessment Session
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If you choose to come and meet with me we will have an initial, 50 minute assessment session during which you should be prepared for me to ask you about the deceased, as well as the events surrounding their death, your relationship with them, your history of previous losses and how you have coped so far.
We will talk about your hopes and expectations for counselling and then decide whether it would be useful for us to work together over a number of sessions, at a pace that feels right for you. There is no obligation to do so. Effective therapy relies upon finding the right person for you so it is important that you feel comfortable.
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​Counselling Sessions
If you decide to proceed we will book in a series of 50 minute sessions. Each person's experience will be unique but ​during those sessions we might expect to cover some of the following: ​
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allowing yourself the time and space to talk freely about the person you have lost;
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helping you to come to accept the reality that the person has gone;
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helping you to explore and understand your feelings, behaviours and thoughts. This may include feelings such as anger, relief or guilt;
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facing emotional and practical adjustments;
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finding a way to have the person you have lost in your life in a way that provides an enduring connection from something other than pain;
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finding new meaning or direction in your own life;
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working through feelings arising from previous or multiple losses that have been pushed aside or ignored;
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coming to terms with a loss where there are unresolved conflicts or negative feelings towards the deceased; and
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talking about the person you have lost when those around you are no longer able to hear it.