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Posted on June 19, 2018 by Insight Clinic

Understanding Grief and Grief Counselling

Grief is a natural, deeply personal response to loss, encompassing a wide range of emotions, including sadness, anger, confusion, and sometimes even relief—particularly when a loss follows prolonged suffering. It’s often associated with significant changes in life, like the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or a loss of health. Grief can manifest differently for everyone, and there is no “correct” way to experience it. While time can help heal, it is normal to need support, particularly when grief feels overwhelming or begins to impact daily functioning.

Grief counselling offers a compassionate, non-judgmental space for individuals to process their grief, navigate their emotions, and develop effective coping strategies. It’s especially beneficial when grief feels prolonged or when individuals struggle with moving forward after a loss. Counsellors at Insight Clinic can help clients understand the grieving process, manage intense emotions, and develop personal resilience as they work through their grief.

Traumatic Grief

Traumatic grief, often called complicated grief, occurs when the loss is coupled with trauma, such as the sudden, unexpected, or violent death of a loved one. Those experiencing traumatic grief may have difficulty processing their loss because trauma symptoms—like flashbacks, feelings of intense fear, and hypervigilance—dominate their emotional response. The individual may feel “stuck” in the trauma, unable to proceed through a typical grieving process. This can make healing extremely challenging, as they may feel caught in a loop of distress.

In counselling, traumatic grief is often approached through trauma-informed techniques. Counsellors provide a safe and supportive environment for individuals to process both their grief and trauma, working toward acceptance and rebuilding a sense of safety. Counselling at Insight Clinic helps clients confront and process their pain while learning to develop a new relationship with their loss.

Disenfranchised Grief

Disenfranchised grief arises when a loss goes unrecognised or unsupported by society, leaving individuals to grieve in isolation. A person suffering from disenfranchised grief may feel their emotions are “unacceptable” or “wrong,” leading to a sense that they aren’t “allowed” to grieve. Many individuals with disenfranchised grief experience shame about discussing their grief and fear judgment from others. As a result, this type of grief is often prolonged, with the emotional pain becoming unbearable for some as they grieve in silence.

Many suffering from disenfranchised grief feel dismissed by others, with their grief minimised or misunderstood. Although it remains a less-discussed form of grief, disenfranchised grief is all too real for many, who experience it in darkness. Examples include, but aren’t limited to:

• Loss or death of a pet animal
• Loss or death of a secret relationship
• Diagnosis of certain medical conditions (e.g., HIV/AIDS)
• Death of a colleague or associate
• Death resulting from child abuse (grief of a perpetrator)
• Grief following an abortion
• Grief following an adoption
• Loss of health or acquiring a disability
• Death of a helping professional
• Imprisonment after a crime
• Loss of important possessions

Whatever the nature of the grief, there is always hope, and no one needs to suffer in silence. Insight Clinic offers compassionate, professional support for individuals dealing with disenfranchised grief, with sessions fully bulk-billed. For those who may feel uncomfortable disclosing the nature of their grief to their GP, simply stating that they aren’t feeling like their usual self and wish to speak with a mental health professional is enough to access a care plan.