Bereavement counselling can be helpful after the death of a family member or loved one. Grief counselling is not always necessary or even appropriate, but can greatly aid mourners suffering from unusually severe or protracted grief.

Grief is normal following the death of a loved one. In extreme cases, this can result in disabling trauma, requiring therapy. But even normal bereavement can sometimes be difficult to cope with. In these cases, bereavement counselling can assist sufferers to manage their grief and not suffer undue impairment to their ordinary lives.

The effects of bereavement can take time to fully manifest. Some people only feel a need for counselling some time after the death. It is worth emphasising that this, too, is a normal reaction, and mourners should have no compunction about seeking help when they feel they need it.

Family and society

A persons social networks can be a tremendous help at a time of bereavement. Close family support and cultural consolations all play a part in coping with grief. But regardless of a persons background, it is not possible to predict how such a traumatic event will affect each person, and anomalous responses are to be expected.

Bereavement counselling, while no substitute for social support or the comfort of close family, can help the bereaved to deal with the trauma more fully.

Confronting guilt

Sometimes, particularly when there are non-natural causes of death, relatives will experience feelings of guilt. This is especially pronounced with suicides. In the case of suicide, relatives and close friends may feel they could have taken some course of action to alleviate the persons suffering, or have demonstrated greater sympathy.

Counselling can help people confront these concerns. While it may be rationally apparent that the relatives are not to blame, counselling can help them to work through persistent feelings of guilt.

Child counselling

Children will often struggle to cope with the death of a close relative, especially a parent. The situations can be complicated by the difficulty of reading the childs emotional state or the childs inability to fully express emotional needs.

However, children, like adults, will go through a normal grieving process. Whether they require counselling will depend on each childs response. Parents who notice abnormal levels of anxiety or other health or behavioural changes in grieving children should seek professional assistance.

There are also specialised counselling groups and therapies for parents who lose children. Losing a child is extremely traumatic, and grieving parents will often find solace through group counselling or other treatments.

When to seek counselling

Bereavement counselling is recommended if you experience any of the following:

Intense grief or emotional numbness for an extended period
You feel emotionally out of control, or deeply isolated
You are taking alcohol or drugs to cope
You have trouble sleeping or repeated nightmares
You have thoughts of suicide

This is by no means a definitive list. If at any point you feel that you would benefit from bereavement counselling, you should approach your doctor or a qualified counsellor for advice on the best course of action.

Be prepared

Material comfort is little consolation at such a traumatic time. However, it is a good idea to ensure that you are adequately prepared so that an already difficult time is not aggravated by a shortage of funds. During a period of bereavement, the last thing you would want to deal with is finding money for funeral expenses and other necessities. You can ensure your own and your familys financial stability with the right funeral insurance policy.