Basic loss can be dealt with through coping and proceeding through the grieving process.  However, sometimes, grief can become complicated or more intense and require deeper aid and assistance.  Grief therapies can help an individual through loss and depression.  Grief therapies however are conducted under professional licensed counselors or psychologists.  If one is only a certified grief counselor, then they cannot delve into deeper grief pathologies, however, many licensed counselors and psychologists are also certified in grief counseling and may proceed with deeper treatments for deeper pathologies.

Grief however in itself is not a pathology and these other treatments can help those dealing with basic loss if necessary.  Some treatments in themselves involve cognitive responses to grief with reframing the loss or reinterpreting and others deal with deeper treatments in reviewing the loss and emotion.  Therapists are able to guide someone through trauma or greater loss.  Other therapies also include play therapy and art therapy for children.

The article, “Understanding Therapy for Grief and How It Can Help” from Healthline looks deeper at different grief therapies.

“It can be difficult to quantify or predict the outlook for people dealing with grief, especially since each person manages it in their own way. It’s also challenging to predict if any one treatment may work the best. Grief does not follow one particular path. Healing is unique to each individual, and the outlook for people dealing with grief looks different for each person. A therapist can play a key role in supporting the healing process by facilitating counseling sessions based on your situation.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Again, certain therapies can only be conducted by different levels of training.  Grief Counselors can usually deal with basic grief, but as grief becomes pathological or more deep therapy is needed, then higher trained professional are needed to help one through the loss.  Identifying complicated grief is key.

Please also review The American Academy of Grief Counseling and its Grief Counseling Certification and see if it it matches your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four certification as a grief counselor.

Collective grief in history can bring inspiration later in the forms of music and art.  The symbolism  found within the art and music can bring forth masterpieces that define human culture.  In ways, art can immortalize grief, freezing it in time for future generations to understand.

The article, “The art of processing our collective grief” by Oscar Holland looks at art and a museum in New York that looks how grief is being immortalized.  He states,

“Whether portraying others’ grief or revealing their own, artists are often able tap into something universal. One need not be Christian to feel Mary’s anguish in Renaissance depictions of Christ’s crucifixion; one need not have lived through the Spanish Civil War to feel the harrowing abyss at the heart of Picasso’s “Guernica” (pictured above). The torment of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” is clear to all.”

To read the entire article, please click here

On a smaller scale, others can utilize art to express their grief.  Artwork, writing, and music are excellent ways for the right side of the brain to process grief through symbol and expression.  It can also help one understand deeper the grief they are experiencing and allow an outlet to express it.

Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.