COMPLICATED GRIEF TREATMENT
Grieving is a highly individual process for each person, and determining when normal grief becomes complicated grief can be difficult. Typically, when people are grieving normally, they notice changes in their grief and how it shifts. The loss becomes a part of your everyday life and the intensity of distress lessens.
Complicated grief is when there isn’t a lot of movement in the feelings and you feel stuck in the distress of the loss. I love this poem that does a beautiful job expressing how a lot of people feel with complicated grief:
Anger
Don’t tell me that you understand, Don’t tell me that you know. Don’t tell me that I will survive, How I will surely grow.
Don’t tell me this is just a test, That I am truly blessed, That I am chosen for this task, Apart from all the rest.
Don’t come at me with answers, That can only come from me, Don’t tell me how my grief will pass, That I will soon be free.
Don’t stand in pious judgment, Of the bonds I must untie, Don’t tell me how to suffer, And don’t tell me how to cry.
My life is filled with selfishness, My pain is all I see, But I need you, I need your love, Unconditionally.
Accept me in my ups and downs, I need someone to share, Just hold my hand and let me cry, And say,
“My friend, I care.”
- By Joanetta Hendel
Through complicated grief therapy you will:
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Learn about complicated grief and how it's treated
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Explore such topics as grief reactions, complicated grief symptoms, adjusting to your loss and redefining your life goals
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Hold imagined conversations with your loved one and retell the circumstances of the death to help you become less distressed by images and thoughts of your loved one
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Explore and process thoughts and emotions
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Improve coping skills
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Reduce feelings of blame and guilt
Ready to get started? Have some more questions?