Bereavement counselling

Bereavement counselling is extremely helpful after the death of a family member or loved one. Grief therapy is not always necessary or even appropriate, but can greatly aid mourners who are coping with death. 

Experiencing grief is normal following the death of a loved one. In extreme cases, this can result in disabling trauma that requires therapy. In all cases, bereavement counselling can assist sufferers in coping with death, minimising disruptions to their ordinary lives.

The effects of bereavement can take time to fully manifest. Some people only feel a need for grief therapy a while after the death. This is a normal reaction and mourners should not hesitate to seek help whenever they feel they need it.     

Family and society

Close family support and cultural consolations all play a part in coping with death. However, it’s never possible to predict how a traumatic event will affect a person. Bereavement counselling, while not a substitute for social support or the comfort of close family, can help the bereaved to deal with the trauma of death more thoroughly.

Confronting guilt

Sometimes, particularly when there are non-natural causes of death, relatives will experience feelings of guilt. In the case of suicide, relatives and close friends may feel they could have taken some course of action to alleviate the person’s suffering, or have demonstrated greater sympathy.

Grief therapy can help people confront these concerns. While it may be rationally apparent that the relatives are not to blame, bereavement counselling can help them to work through persistent feelings of guilt.

Child counselling

Children will often struggle in coping cope with death, especially when it comes to close relatives or parents. These situations can be complicated by the difficulty of reading the child’s emotional state or the child’s inability to fully express emotional needs. Children will still go through a normal grieving process.

Whether they require counselling or not will depend on each child’s individual response. Parents who notice abnormal levels of anxiety or other health or behavioural changes in grieving children should seek professional assistance. 

There are also specialised grief therapy groups and therapies for parents who lose children. Losing a child is extremely traumatic and grieving parents will often find solace through group counselling or other treatments.

When to seek grief therapy

Bereavement counselling is recommended if you experience any of the following when coping with death:

• Intense grief or emotional numbness for an extended period of time
• You feel emotionally out of control, or deeply isolated
• You are taking alcohol or drugs to cope
• You have trouble sleeping or repeated nightmares
• You have thoughts of suicide

This is by no means a definitive list. If at any point you feel that you would benefit from bereavement counselling, you should approach your doctor or a qualified counsellor for advice on the best course of action.

Be prepared

It is a good idea to ensure that you are adequately prepared so that an already difficult time is not aggravated by a shortage of funds. When coping with death, the last thing you would want to deal with is finding money for funeral expenses and other necessities. You can ensure yours and your family’s financial stability with the right funeral insurance policy.

About the Author:

Hollard Funeral provides flexible funeral insurance in South Africa, enabling family members to arrange a funeral easily and with dignity. Contact Hollard Funeral today to discuss a comprehensive funeral policy.