Surviving Parents Struggle With Grief Counseling

When a family suffers the loss of a loved one, it can be incredibly taxing. Families sometimes struggle to fully comprehend what has occurred and may have a hard time communicating it to one another. Losing a loved one, specifically a parent, at a young age becomes very challenging for a child to understand and grieve correctly. If a child is not given the help and support needed through the grieving process, it can cause greater mental and possible physical illness later in the child's life. It is crucial for the family and the surviving parent, to help the young child early on so they can heal properly. Throughout this paper, the author will discuss the found research regarding the topic of grief counseling and how grief can affect children

Finally, the topic of how the community itself can help a family or child who has gone through the trauma of losing a parent. This could be a school system, or even a doctors office, intervention group, or counselor. Grief Counseling Overview Grief is the “emotion, generated by an experience of loss and characterized by sorrow and/or distress and the personal and interpersonal experience of loss” (Ober, 2012). Grief is unfortunately inevitable for the human race. Vene though it is something that causes great pain, it also has the ability to cause growth and strength. Grief allows us to learn how to understand, and help others and also develop our own courage to live with pain (Altmaier). 2011). The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Se There are various qualities that a grieving counselor must have in order to effectively help their patient. These qualities consist of empathetic presence, gentle conversation, available space and engaging trust (Altmaier).

Available space follows along the lines of the counselor, remaining patient and understanding that grieving takes time. Engaging in trust involves the counselor encouraging the patient and reassuring them that they can grow from this loss. When one loses a loved one, they find a sense of hopelessness and may not feel they can go on without that person, but through engaging in trust, counselors can help the patient realize they can grow. For counselors, it is crucial to have knowledge on how to help patients approach and handle their grief. Although grief counseling is such an important part of a counselors education, there is a lack of training among counselors because grief counseling is not considered a core required course for counselors to complete. Being a counselor that assists those in grieving can be a very taxing job on the mind and body. What these counselors need to realize is that they are helping their patients as well as the patient's family, not just in the present part of their lives, but also in the future. Early Effects on the Child When a child goes through bereavement and the death of a loved one, it is important that they receive counseling and therapy as quickly as