Grief Counseling in San Antonio: Finding Peace After Loss

 Grief is complex and full of a multitude of emotions whether it be denial, shock, anger, sadness or even anxiety. As humans we will encounter some form of grief in our lifetime and experience grief in different ways with different losses. One’s loss will be different than another’s. Whether your loss was sudden or expected, grief will meet you in the process. The types of grief may be due to a death of a loved one -- friends, family and even pets. A loss of a marriage, business, friendship can all bring on the pangs of grief. Many women experience the loss of an unborn child during a miscarriage which also will put them into a grief process.

Your body and brain go through a major transformation during the grief process. While grief has no major timeline, there are stages of grief one can expect. The initial stage of grief occurs the first few weeks and months following the loss. This time is often filled with intense sadness, disbelief, shock, overwhelm and anger. It can include issues of fatigue, sleep disturbance and changes in eating habits. It is not uncommon one’s appetite reduces drastically or increases drastically during the acute grief stage.  

The following months are more adaptive or integrative. This phase of grief cycle lasts months to years. If integrated well, it introduces the acceptance of the loss. It typically includes one’s ability to re-enter life while still taking time to remember their loved one with sadness or memories.

You may have heard the first year is the hardest, which it can be especially with all the firsts without your loved one, major holidays, anniversaries, birthdays and death anniversaries can be consuming mentally and physically. While grief’s waves may still be intense, they occur less often between the mile markers of life.

Finally, Prolonged Grief Disorder is when grief persists beyond the first year for adults or 6 months for children. These symptoms are severe and impact the daily functioning of the individual. Some signs for prolonged grief include avoidance of accepting the loss, loss of identity or sense of self, and intense persistent emotional pain.

 We as humans can even encounter grief due to loss of our homes, finances and more. So it is very prevalent in our society and all the more needed support to help navigate the losses. Navigating these losses are not new to us at Transform & Renew Counseling, we are keenly aware and acquainted with loss and the grief process for our clients here in San Antonio and across Texas virtually.

Signs You May Benefit from Grief Counseling

While it is expected you to experience emotions and sadness during your grief process, there are some very clear signs that should signal you to seek additional support. 
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• Emotional numbness
• Trouble functioning
• Guilt, regret, or anger
• Prolonged mourning

When grief is all consuming and have trouble functioning in your day to day, you are not able to eat, drink, sleep, go to work or concentrate on the little things. When you have persistent guilt, anger, or regret over the loss you have experienced. The prolonged mourning and you are not able to get back to a somewhat normal routine, are all signs that you may need additional help. Staying in these emotional states can have some hazardous impact on your mental health leaving you with nightmares and dreams that feel all too real and hard to break away from.

Grief impacts the body and the brain, shutting down the prefrontal cortex, slowing the decision making ability, and activating the nervous system and making you feel all the emotions even more than normal, while your neurotransmitters that bring peace and calm are dramatically lowered during this time.

How Grief Therapy Helps

Grief therapy can be helpful in many ways. It can help a client, like you, to process in a safe place and to avoid a prolonged grief process. It helps ease the pain and learn what to expect during the process and make meaning from the loss and pain.  Facing these problems head on will give you guidance, a place to put the grief so that your body can return to its normal level of functioning reducing the brain fog, fatigue, building back your healthy habits of moving your body, sleeping soundly, and reconnecting with the world around you.
Therapy for grief will help you to learn how to navigate the painful memories that come with grief and loss. There are many approaches that can support you in the grief process including EMDR, CBT, narrative and culturally sensitive approaches. Each tailored to your unique needs and help you find meaning to the loss you have experienced.

What to Expect from Sessions

For grief therapy you will work with your individual therapist for a determined treatment plan and set amount of time. The process will include a collaborative goal setting session and individualized pace. What one person completes in three months may be someone else’s six months. Your grief process is your own journey and should go at your own pace. When you identify the goals you will identify which goal you wish to work on first and the overall long term goals of therapy.
Grief therapy sessions may include asking about your story, your experiences with the loss and your current state. It will also include talking about your loved one and the difficult decisions you may have been involved in during that season. We will ask questions about your loved one that help you to find rituals and positive memories when needed or even expressing harder and difficult emotions for when it was a loss but left you angry or numb. 

Grief is not one sized and looks different depending on the complex nature of how you experienced the loss. If you had multiple deaths, this would complicate the grief process and may take longer to work through.
No matter how you are facing your grief, you do not have to face it alone. Our trained counselors are willing and ready to walk alongside you as you face the challenges of accepting the loss in your life. We will tailor our work to your unique needs and go at your own pace.

Grief counseling is available in person in San Antonio at our Northwest office and Northeast office. Grief counseling can also be accessed online via our telehealth platform.

Why Start Now?
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If you are still struggling with grief and loss and need help navigating these issues, please pick up the phone today and call us at 210-201-4578 to get you scheduled with one of our counselors in San Antonio Texas or online.