Grief & Bereavement Counseling

Loss of any kind is difficult for us to work through. Whether you’re dealing with a death in the family or the end of a relationship, your mind and body will be impacted by the loss. At Manatee Associates of Counseling & Assessment in Palmetto, FL we offer grief and bereavement therapy to make this process a little easier. We will honor and validate your emotional pain while helping you find ways to cope and adapt to the changes in your life after a loss.

What is Grief?

While most people think of death when they hear this word, grief is actually the process of mourning and adapting to a loss of any kind. Whether you’ve ended a long term relationship, lost your job, become an empty nester, or you’re adjusting to any other kind of loss, you will likely experience a period of grief and mourning, which is a natural part of the healing process.

What is Bereavement?

Bereavement refers to the type of grief specifically related to the death of a loved one. While grief can be related to any kind of a loss, bereavement may be more difficult to work through because of the finality of this form of loss.

Of Course I’m Sad – I Lost a Loved One! Why Would I Need Therapy for That?

In short, there’s nothing wrong with what you’re feeling, and it’s important that you see your grieving process as perfectly natural. We do too! However, that doesn’t mean that grieving isn’t negatively impacting your life. You deserve all the space you need to grieve, but you also deserve to feel better again. Therapy can be an important step to help you make room for your grief while also finding your joy and purpose in life again.

What to Expect During the Mourning Process

Healing following a loss is about adapting. Your life is forever changed in a real and meaningful way. However, the process you go through during this time of grief or bereavement will differ from anyone else’s grieving process. Most people have some combination of physical, emotional, and relational symptoms through the mourning process, including:

Physical Symptoms:

• Crying and emoting
• Headaches and body aches
• Loss of appetite or overeating
• Not getting enough sleep or sleeping too much
• Weakness and excessive sleepiness or fatigue

Emotional Symptoms:

• Sadness and depression
• Yearning and longing
• Worry and stress
• Guilt
• Frustration
• Quickly changing moods

Social Symptoms:

• Feeling detached from others because they won’t understand what you’re going through
• Self-isolating because you don’t have the energy to deal with other people
• Behaving in impulsive, promiscuous, or otherwise erratic ways

What Happens During Therapy for Grief & Loss?

Grief is a natural process, and every person will go through it differently. Therapy can help you to manage the symptoms you’re experiencing, create context for your loss, and balance appropriate emotional validation and response with steps to move forward beyond your initial grief to a new part of your life beyond the loss.

Let’s Get Started!

We know it can be intimidating to take this next step to schedule an appointment with our team. You may have had negative experiences with therapy in the past, you may be worried about stigma surrounding counseling, or you may just be worried. We get it. The good news is we can help you put some of those worries aside and start feeling like yourself again. When you’re ready, the Manatee Associates of Counseling & Assessment team is here for you.