3 Things To Expect In Grief Counseling

After you experience a tragedy, you're left with feelings of grief and loss that can be difficult to deal with on your own. Many people lean on friends and family when they're dealing with grief, but some people find that those supportive persons just aren't enough, or they simply don't have supportive friends or family to turn to. A grief counselor can help you process your emotions and understand them better, which can help you eventually work your way through the grief. However, the idea of talking about such raw emotions with a stranger can seem daunting at first. Take a look at some of the things you may experience in grief counseling.

1. You May Not Know What to Say

Grief is a big, powerful emotion, and it can be hard to express in words. If you're mourning the loss of a loved one, you may have complicated feelings about that person that are difficult to explain. It's not uncommon for people to feel at a loss for words when they sit down to talk to a grief counselor.

What you should know is that silences are common in all kinds of counseling sessions, and they're certainly common during grief counseling. Silence can feel awkward when you're in a room with another person, and in most social settings the polite thing to do is fill the silence. But counseling is different. Your counselor will understand if you need to take time to think of what to say or think over the last thing that was said. Don't be afraid to fall silent when you can't think of what you want to say – take your time, and the words will come eventually.

2. You May Feel Angry

It's the counselor's job to get you to express your feelings, and to gather information they can use to help give you the tools you need to process those feelings. In order to do that, your counselor may ask questions that seem at first to be irrelevant. They may also ask questions that seem prying or that touch on painful topics.

This can make you feel uncomfortable, and you may even feel angry with your counselor for asking personal questions or broaching sensitive subjects. It's important to recognize that these feelings are normal in therapy, and it's OK to express them to your counselor.

3. You May Have Emotional Outbursts

You may find yourself doing more than just talking during your counseling sessions. It's not uncommon for people in grief counseling to cry or even yell during counseling sessions. These kinds of emotional displays may come as a surprise, especially if you're accustomed to censoring visible displays of emotion in public.

But you shouldn't try to censor yourself in counseling or feel embarrassed about expressing your emotions. Grief counseling should be a safe place to express your feelings, and your counselor is unlikely to be surprised or bothered by a demonstrative display of emotion. Whatever it is, your counselor has seen it before and is prepared for it. Grief counseling may seem unfamiliar and strange at first, but it can be a big help to you as you move through the stages of grief. If you're struggling with grief, don't hesitate to reach out to a company like Brown Funeral Home.