Grief & Loss Counseling
Grief is the natural response to losing someone or something deeply important. It often follows the death of a loved one, and it can also follow changes such as divorce or a serious diagnosis that reshape the life a person expected to have. For most people, the intensity of grief gradually softens, while about 1 in 10 bereaved adults develops prolonged grief disorder, in which grief remains intense and disruptive long after the loss. The risk is considerably higher for grief after sudden loss or a violent death.
Understanding Grief
Grief affects both the mind and the body, and it can touch nearly every part of daily life. The well-known stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) describe common reactions to loss, though grieving in stages tends to happen in waves, with feelings surfacing in any order. Painful emotions may ease for a time and then return without warning, especially around holidays and other painful anniversaries. Coping with grief involves allowing these reactions while gradually adjusting to life after loss, which often includes finding meaning after loss and new ways of staying connected to what is gone.
Types of Loss:
Grief can follow many kinds of loss, including:
- Death of a loved one, including the loss of a parent or child
- Pregnancy loss or infertility
- Divorce or the end of a relationship
- Job loss or the end of a career
- A serious illness, injury, or disability
- Retirement and other major life transitions
- Children leaving home
- Relocation
- Estrangement from family
- Ambiguous grief, such as caring for a loved one with dementia who is physically present but changed
How Does Grief Affect Mental Health?
Common reactions to loss include:
- Waves of sadness and longing
- Shock, numbness, or disbelief soon after a loss
- Anger, guilt, or regret
- Anxiety about the future
- Difficulty sleeping and changes in appetite
- Fatigue and physical aches
- Trouble concentrating or making decisions
- Withdrawing from others and feeling isolated
- Difficulty keeping up with daily routines
- Depression
Prolonged Grief Disorder
Prolonged grief disorder was added to the DSM-5-TR in 2022. It describes grief that remains intense and disruptive for at least a year after a death in adults, or six months in children and adolescents. Navigating complicated grief can feel isolating, since the pain may seem as raw as it did in the first days after the loss. Symptoms include:
- Intense yearning or longing for the person who died
- Preoccupation with thoughts or memories of the person
- Feeling as though part of oneself has died
- Marked disbelief about the death
- Avoiding reminders that the person is gone
- Intense emotional pain related to the death
- Difficulty reengaging with relationships and activities
- Emotional numbness
- Feeling that life is meaningless
- Intense loneliness
Long-term grief symptoms can interfere with work, relationships and health, and they often occur alongside depression, anxiety, or PTSD, particularly after a sudden or traumatic loss. A careful assessment can distinguish prolonged grief from these conditions and guide treatment. Effective treatment helps restore connection to daily life while honoring the relationship with the person who died.
Treatment for Grief and Loss:
Grief counseling offers a space to work through sorrow and begin saying goodbye emotionally at your own pace. Support after bereavement can also help with the practical adjustments that follow a loss, including rebuilding daily routines. Treatment options include:
Grief Counseling: Provides support in processing the emotional impact of losing a loved one and adjusting to life after loss.
Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (PGDT): A structured treatment developed for prolonged grief that helps people accept the reality of the loss while restoring meaning and personal goals.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps address patterns such as self-blame and avoidance that can keep grief from easing.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Helps people make room for painful emotions while reconnecting with what gives life meaning.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Helps process distressing memories connected to a death, particularly after a sudden or traumatic loss. Learn more about EMDR.
Meaning-Centered Therapy: Supports finding meaning after loss and a renewed sense of purpose.
Family Therapy: Grief counseling for families helps members support one another, especially when each person grieves differently.
Group Therapy: Connects people with others who understand loss, easing grief and isolation.
Dance/Movement Therapy and Expressive Arts: Uses movement and creative expression to process feelings that can be difficult to put into words.
Medication: Can help when depression or anxiety accompanies grief, and is typically used alongside therapy.
Get Support at Miami Counseling & Resource Center:
Our team of psychologists, licensed counselors, family therapists, clinical social workers, and psychiatrists provides counseling for loss and mourning to clients of all ages through individual, couples, family, and group therapy. We offer support through painful anniversaries and the everyday moments when a loss feels closest. Together, we’ll help you honor what you’ve lost and move toward healing after a death or other major loss at a pace that feels right for you.
If you’re looking for grief counseling in Miami, we’re here to help. Reach out to learn more or schedule an appointment.
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