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.

Work is a necessity in life.  However, it can cause unneeded stress.  Work environments that are unhealthy physically and mentally can cause stress in many employees.  Dangerous and high risk jobs, or jobs with unforgiving deadlines, or even jobs that are repetitiously boring leaving the employee with little input can all cause stress.  Furthermore, some careers or jobs can also cause what is known as work depression.  Work depression differs than work stress in that the reaction within the body and mind is a more constant state and does not release after the stressor is absent.

The article, “Work Depression: How to Take Care of Your Mental Health on the Job” from Healthline takes a closer look at work depression and its causes and how to better deal with it.  The article states,

“If you feel depressed when working, you’re not alone. Sadness, anxiety, loss of motivation, difficulty concentrating, unexplained bouts of crying, and boredom are just a small sampling of the things you may be feeling if you’re experiencing depressive symptoms at work.  Depression impacts over 17 million American adults each year.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if 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.

The pandemic has bore itself upon millions of people.  It is wearing on so many.  So many losses, both deeply personal but also secondary in nature, but the overall cloud upon the planet has also created a general grief.  Many individuals are feeling a general apathy due to the pandemic and that is only  natural.

The article, “What you’re feeling is grief” by Nylah Burton looks at how many are having a difficult time coping and responding to so much grief.  The article states,

“These conditions, combined with the duration of the pandemic, are causing many people to struggle with the loss of their “resilience muscle,” says Sherry Cormier, a psychologist and bereavement specialist who authored the book Sweet Sorrow: Finding Enduring Wholeness after Loss and Grief. “Back in March, we had a lot of zest. We thought we could get through this and rise to the challenge. But the longer this goes on, the climb gets harder and harder,” Cormier says. “We are definitely in a mental health epidemic.”

To read the entire article, please click here

With death, personal losses, loss of income and loss of social interaction, basic coping is becoming not enough for many people.  The general cloud of apathy and mental issues that come with a pandemic are beginning to take root.

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

During the pandemic, many employees working remotely or even in shop are facing a multitude of changes and challenges.  Depression, anxiety and other mental disorders are may widespread than in the past.  Employers can play a huge role in identifying the symptoms and helping their employees.

The article, “How to spot depression and anxiety in the remote workplace and help your employees” by Erin Hartley takes a closer look at employees and depression and how employers can help.  The article states,

“While 2021 will still be a challenging year for many as the pandemic continues, and remote work will remain the norm, companies can and should take a proactive approach to spotting anxiety and depression among their employees and take measured steps to get them the help they need.”

To read the entire article, please click here

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

Grief is not something that is patched up with a bandaide and left to heal.  It is not something that one recovers from ever.  Anyone who says one can recover from grief is misleading you.  Freud taught that grief is something that must be removed from the person.  The person must recover and move on from it, as if grief was a disease or pathology.  Grief however is far from a pathology but part of our human condition.  It is a result of loving someone so much that the loss creates a void forever.

Grief is not about recovery but is about adaptation and coping.  As time goes, one is able to adapt to the loss and remember the beloved with warmness, and even live with happiness, but the wound is forever present at different intensities at certain times.  This is not something one wishes to remove but something that one embraces as the price of love.  Love and grief coincide in this fallen world and if we never loved, then we would never grieve.

So there is no magic pill or recovery for grief.  It is hard work, adaptation, coping and remembering with fondness the love that existed and still exists in one’s heart.  This is not what many want to hear but it is what they need to hear.  Grief Counseling is not about healing grief but is about helping others learn to live with grief.

The article, “We Don’t Recover From Grief, and that’s Okay” from “Whats Your Grief” is an excellent reminder of how we never truly recover from grief.  The article states,

“But the grief, it’s always there, like an old injury that aches when it rains.  And though this prospect may be scary in the early days of grief, I think in time you’ll find that you wouldn’t have it any other way. Grief is an expression of love – these things grow from the same seed.  Grief becomes a part of how we love a person despite their physical absence; it helps connect us to memories of the past; it bonds us with others through our shared humanity, and it helps provide perspective on our immense capacity for finding strength and wisdom in the most difficult of times.”

To read the entire article, please click here

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

When something or someone is gone, the mind remembers the loss.  The greater the loss, the greater the pain and the longer period to adjust.  Constant reminders exist throughout our life that do not allow us to forget the loss or person.  While this is good, while grieving, it is also painful.

Sometimes, its a place, a scent, an object, a day, or an event.  They can all trigger in the mind, memories, both good and bad.  Sometimes, our subconscious will dwell on the person in dreams.  Ultimately, someone so interwoven with you, will never be forgotten nor should be forgotten.  The things that remind us of our loved one are memories of the love shared and remind us how we miss them and how much they mean to us.  They also show us the desire to see them again one day in another world.

The article, “Grief: Coping with reminders after a loss” from the Mayo Clinic looks at these reminders.  The article states,

“Certain reminders of your loved one might be inevitable, such as a visit to the loved one’s grave, the anniversary of the person’s death, holidays, birthdays or new events you know he or she would have enjoyed. Even memorial celebrations for others can trigger the pain of your own loss. Reminders can also be tied to sights, sounds and smells — and they can be unexpected. You might suddenly be flooded with emotions when you drive by the restaurant your partner loved or when you hear your child’s favorite song.”

To read the entire article, click here

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.

When dealing with grief, it takes time but it brings about change.  Change comes gradual though and it can take time.  One cannot rush the changes grief brings about in a person as the person learns to exist without the loved one and form new relationships with others.

The article, “In the first year of grief, walk the perimeter” by Michael Chancellor, the first year of grief is examined.  He states,

“I often tell my clients it takes a year to get a sense of the loss we have experienced. I compare it to a person who has purchased a piece of land and walked out the perimeter before he agreed to the purchase. He does that to become familiar with the land he is planning to purchase.  Grief is like that. It takes a year to walk out the perimeter of our loss. What happens in a year that is so important?”

To read the entire article, please click here

Grief is a life long journey.  There is truly no recovery but adaptation to the loss.  A new balance of accepting the loss and living with the new.

Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification to learn more about the nature of grief and also to help others learn to cope with it and make a healthy transition.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals.

Post partem depression is a serious issue for mothers.  However, many people do not know that it fathers can also suffer post partem depression.  This more rare occurrence does happen and can affect men.

The article, “Postpartum depression for dads – it’s a thing” by Armin Brott discusses how this can occur for men.  He states,

“Although postpartum depression in women is widely acknowledged and studied, researchers have only recently admitted what plenty of new dads already knew: it affects men too—in fact, as many as one in four new dads experience the kinds of symptoms you mentioned (plus others) in the days, weeks, and even months after the birth of a child. Unfortunately, men rarely discuss their feelings or ask for help, especially during a time when they’re supposed to “be there” for the new mom.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Men express themselves differently then women and may not receive the help they need.  They might even feel embarrassment and bury their feelings during this difficult time.

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

When we lose someone, life is never the same.  Holidays especially are never the same.  The empty seat is a grim reminder of the loss every year.  The first few years will be the most painful, while future years will ease in pain but still always remind.  Traditions alter as well as time goes by and when certain family members are gone.  Changing traditions and but keeping the fundamental values are important in these cases.

The article from “Whats Your Grief”, “Changing Holiday Traditions; Keeping Holiday Value” takes a closer look at traditions change and new ones emerge.  The article states,

“After a loss, traditions big and small sometimes have to change. Part of coping with the hoidays as we grieve is planning for the traditions we will keep, those we will change, and those we will leave behind. This is hard in the best of years, and 2020 – a year of change, loss, distance, and isolation has changed our who, when, wheres, and hows more than ever.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it matches 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