Grief Counseling Certification Article on Mass Shooting

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

A mass shooting event affects not just the community but the entire nation.  It shakes the very core of every person.  It implants fear and grief for everyone.

In this type of horrific and traumatic loss, one does not just experience tragic loss of life, but also a collective loss.  So apart from the long term pain and grief of the parents and school administration, the nation as a whole experiences a national grief.

Mass shootings impose a loss and grief that is personal and communal to the entire nation. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
Mass shootings impose a loss and grief that is personal and communal to the entire nation. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification

In addition to this national grief and fear, survivors of the account face their own inner demons.  Survivor guilt can overcome many teens.  They can question why they survived or question in what ways they acted.

The waves of grief and loss that rock a nation with mass shootings are too many to detail.

The loss of life, the loss of safety, the loss of peace and the continuing scars of survivors and families all cry for better laws to help protect America from these tragedies.  What these laws entail, the law makers will determine but in the meantime, the types of grief that rock the country will continue.

Survivors will experience survivor guilt.  In some cases, this can become so severe, that students, or survivors will commit suicide.  Survivor guilt exists in soldiers from war but exists in any type of traumatic experience.  In these cases, individuals will feel guilt over not dying and question everything they did that die.   Post traumatic stress disorder can also manifest in the individuals who are attempting to move on in life past the incident.

Those not involved in the shooting, but from a more distance will experience a collective national grief.  The nation will mourn the loss but also mourn the injustice.  This leads to political activism as well as new laws.  The nation however remains scarred psychologically with the indepth fear that a mass shooting can happen at anytime.  Whether Americans are going to the movies, or dropping their child off to school, or attending worship, there remains a fear in the back of their minds.

This is a collective type of grief that a nation inherits from such tragedies.  These events shake the individuals involved but also shake the very soul of the collective nation.  Grief and loss is shared by many at different levels of loss.  Some of these losses are more personal and intense while others experience this grief in a more abstract way.

If you would like to learn more about loss and grief then please review the American Academy of Grief Counseling and its Grief Counseling Certification.

 

Grief Counseling Certification Article on Secondary Losses

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Grief is about loss.  The primary loss is not the end story of grief.   Grief has many secondary losses associated with the primary loss.

Losses transcend just the initial shock but have waves of loss. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
Losses transcend just the initial shock but have waves of loss. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification

The article, “Four Types of Grief Nobody Told You About” by Sarah Epstein states,

“The word grief has come to be understood solely as a reaction to a death. But that narrow understanding fails to encompass the range of human experiences that create and trigger grief. Here are four types of grief that we experience that have nothing to do with death:”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification to learn more about loss and grief and the various types of grief.

 

Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Program Article on Children and Questions of Death

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Children can become fascinated with the concept of death at a young age.  Many children are influenced by magical thinking and cannot conceptualize the permanence of death.   Other children come into contact with death usually with the loss of a small pet such as a fish or hamster.

Children at a young age can become very interested in the topic of death. Please also review our Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Program
Children at a young age can become very interested in the topic of death. Please also review our Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Program

The article, “Why Do 4-Year-Olds Love Talking About Death?” by Jessica Grose looks at this curious interest.  The article states, 

“When our older daughter was 4, it seemed like she was asking us about death constantly. These questions were apropos of nothing; we hadn’t had a death in the family or lost a pet. What was jarring was her matter-of-fact tone.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Program

 

Grief Counseling Certification Article on Stillborn Grief

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

The loss of a child and stillborn birth is a very traumatic type of loss for parents.  This type of loss robs the parents of anything before life is able to experienced outside the womb.  Cases vary if the child dies before or during birth, but the blunt reality of losing one’s child on its birthday is a cold reality that few ever recover from.

The loss of a child at birth or prior to birth is a tragic event. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
The loss of a child at birth or prior to birth is a tragic event. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification

The article, “Parents Mourning Stillbirth Follow Familiar Patterns on YouTube” by Christine Ro looks at some of the familiar patterns by parents from youtube.  The article states, 

“For 24 agonizing hours, Monica Franco-Pineda prepared to deliver a stillborn baby. She and her husband, Walter, had learned on Oct. 14, 2010, four days past her due date, that their son, Gabriel, no longer had a heartbeat. “I had a lot of time to digest what was going to happen,” she remembers.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification to learn more about helping others grief and loss.

Grief Counseling Program Article on Divorce

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Divorce is a difficult transition.  The loss of relationship, life style, and family can be very difficult.  There are many secondary losses beyond the divorce that can affect one’s grieving process as well.

Divorce is more than emotional pain but also great loss. Please also review our Grief Counseling Program
Divorce is more than emotional pain but also great loss. Please also review our Grief Counseling Program

The article, “6 Ways To Deal With Grief After Divorce — So You Can Heal & Move On” by Karen Finn states,

“Life after divorce involves a lot of agony in its wake and grief is an inescapable part of it. But the work to getting over it ending and dealing with grief after a bitter divorce can create another level of agony altogether.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Program and see if it matches your academic and professional needs.   In the meantime, be aware of the many facets of grief and loss that is wrapped up in divorce itself.

 

Grief Christian Counseling Article on Good Friday’s Suffering of Jesus and Mary

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

The suffering and loss experienced by the Blessed Virgin on Good Friday is beyond the grief any mother should ever endure.   She suffered a spiritual martyrdom as her Son was crucified for the sins of the world.

The combined sorrows of Mary and Jesus, offered to the Father through Christ. Please also review our Grief Christian Counseling Training
The combined sorrows of Mary and Jesus, offered to the Father through Christ.
Please also review our Grief Christian Counseling Training

The grief of Mary and Jesus and Christ’s death are remembered during Good Friday and remind us the power of sacrifice.  Jesus was able to turn death into life and grief into joy.  This teaches the Christian to endure hardships and trials and offer them to the Father through our high priest, Jesus Christ.

Mary’s grief and loss also have immense value.  She offered her pain to Jesus and through her intimate suffering with him played a key role in our salvation.  Mary was not the source of our salvation, but her suffering and offering of her Son was pivotal in our redemption.

Eve played a critical role in our fall but was not the reason, like so, Mary, the New Eve, plays a critical role in our salvation.  She reflects and plays the role of Eve, as Christ is our new Adam.

In this, as Christians, while we reflect on the sorrows of Christ, we can also in good faith, reflect on the sorrows of His mother.  By doing so, all is reflected to Christ, as we meditate on the sufferings of mother and Son, New Eve and New Adam, immaculate and sacred hearts of both Jesus and Mary

Please also review our Grief Christian Counseling Program and see if it matches the needs of your ministry in Christian Counseling those in grief.

 

Grief Counseling Training Article on Murdered Child

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Losing a child is the ultimate loss.  The loss can be worst if that child is murdered.  All of these circumstances create the perfect storm for the worst type of grief a person can experience.

Losing a child to murder or violence is one of the worst pains in existence. Please also review our Grief Counseling Training
Losing a child to murder or violence is one of the worst pains in existence. Please also review our Grief Counseling Training

The article, “‘This doesn’t go away’: When your child is murdered, grief is only the beginning” by Ashley Luthern states,

“The outside world did not seem to care much about her son, either. Anthony’s death, the 85th homicide of the year, warranted a few clips on TV broadcasts and three paragraphs in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Certain manners of death — like a homicide or drug overdose — carry a social stigma that can be isolating and possibly lead to something called “disenfranchised grief,” said Handel, the psychotherapist.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Training and see if it can help you in your professional endeavors of helping others through grief

Holistic Nursing Program Article on Overall Health

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

When trying to become healthy, one must not just relay on supplements but must choose a good diet and exercise regiment.   Diet and exercise needs to be the central aspect of all healthy life styles.   Vitamins and supplements should compliment but not replace diet and exercise.

Please also review our Holistic Nursing Program.

A proper diet should not be replaced with supplements. Please also review our Holistic Nursing Program
A proper diet should not be replaced with supplements. Please also review our Holistic Nursing Program

The article, “Vitamins and Supplements Can’t Replace a Balanced Diet, Study Says” by  JAMIE DUCHARME states,

“Roughly 90% of American adults do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, but many are trying to make up for it by popping pills. According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 75% of U.S. adults take a dietary supplement of some kind. Multivitamins, many people believe, are a one-step way to get the nutrients they need.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our program in Holistic Nursing to learn more about healthy diets and lifestyles from a more natural perspective.   Also, please review our Life Coaching Program

Grief Counseling Certification Article on Loss within a Company

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

When death happens in a business setting it can upset the entire organization.  The surviving colleague needs to take up the slack and help the organization forward.  How to deal with this type of loss though can have many effects on the team.  Many secondary losses can also be experienced as a whole to the company.

Losing a colleague at work can be difficult. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
Losing a colleague at work can be difficult. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification

The article, “When a Colleague Dies, CEOs Change How They Lead” by Guoli Chen states,

“If the person doing the thinking is among the upper echelons of an organization, the recognition that their time on earth is all too finite can have a widespread impact across their company.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional needs.

Grief Counseling Training Article on Grief and Gaming

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

With so much negativity surrounding video games, it is good to hear some healthy benefits of them.  This is especially true in the case of grief.  Video games allow individuals to live their emotions through other avatars.  This can also be a very beneficial experience, especially in grief.

Video games can help individuals cope with grief. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
Video games can help individuals cope with grief. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification

The article, “How Video Games Help Us Process Grief” by Dana Folkard looks at how video games help the gamer deal with and express grief.  The article states,

“We need a distraction from grief, something that has the potential to re-connect us with life. For some, video games can serve this purpose. For others it may be strenuous gym workouts, work, eating, drinking, walking, gardening and so on.”

To review the entire article, please click here

Many role playing video games give the person the escape they need from grief.  It enables them to live life through another, experience loss through others and relate with the character.

Please also review our Grief Counseling Training and see if it meets your academic needs.