Bereavement and loss
We will all experience loss and grief at some point in our lives. We grieve for, say, the death of someone close, or a much-loved pet, the loss of a treasured possession through burglary, or the end of a marriage or partnership, or being made redundant at work.

Grief is a natural way for us to process what has happened; to be sad and angry about it is normal and usually we adjust, after a period of time, to the new situation of living without the person or possession or partner or workplace role. Eventually we can let go of the grief, get on with our lives and the loss is gradually less important to us. But sometimes the process of grieving gets stuck and moving on becomes very difficult. That is when counselling can help you. I have written a leaflet called Bereavement and Loss which you can download from this link.

I would encourage and support you whilst you talked about your loss. We would work on a way to understand it and come to terms with it, perhaps doing some therapeutic writing to give the loss its own permanent place. Sometimes it would mean reviewing previous losses as well, in an effort to understand where the lack of processing first began. If you have suffered a recent loss and want to talk to someone about it, please contact me. The websites below are just a few of the many self-help websites for people who have experienced loss in their lives.

www.nasponline.org/NEAT/grief.html
www.netpoets.com/poems/death/
www.livingourlosses.com/
www.earlychildhoodlinks.com/parents/pregnancyloss.htm
www.drw.org.uk/
www.activeparenting.com/PCloss.htm

Traumatic loss
Sometimes our loss comes suddenly and unexpectedly through an accident or violent act. At such times we can be left with strong feelings and memories or nightmares which replay themselves intrusively, like psychological videos. They worry us and those close to us. In such circumstances our loss can be described as traumatic. I have written a leaflet about coping with traumatic events which you can download from this link. It's called Coping after a Critical Incident. If you would also like to contact me for some online counselling help please email me using the links that appear at the top and bottom of every page.

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