Death & Grief
These articles offer insightful and vulnerable accounts of people living through loss, from anticipated deaths to more sudden tragedies, who were helped in therapy. They explore topics from the intersection of attachment and grief to the pain of anniversaries and the ways in which old traumas can be reactivated by new bereavements. In these pieces, you'll find frameworks for acknowledging and navigating the complexities of grief in therapy. Learn from grief experts as they offer guidance on making meaning in the disorienting wake of loss.
Grief expert Megan Devine & EFT trainer Leanne Campbell help a fulfilled, successful, father-to-be explore his persistent grief over the loss of his cat. Read more
Renowned grief expert David Kessler shares what can grief work teach us about the role of religious beliefs in therapy. Read more
A personal experience of excruciating loss becomes a hard lesson in the neuroscience of grief. Read more
Director Andrew Haigh’s haunting film All of Us Strangers lays bare the critical role of imagination in healing from traumatic loss. Read more
When preventing death or tragedy is no longer an option, we need to enter a radically different headspace. Read more
What is a death café? And why do so many people find them therapeutic? Read more
A psychotherapy icon grapples with the imminent death of his wife as she moves from palliative care to hospice care. Read more
The increasing ability of modern medicine to arrest or slow terminal illness means that never before has death been such an extended process for so many. But... Read more
Suicide isn't simply the tragedy of someone taking their own life: it's also the long, excruciating nightmare of being left behind. Read more
According to grief experts, does a new diagnosis in the DSM pathologize a critical component of the human experience? Read more
While grief can be a familiar creature that lives inside us, we often treat it as a stranger Read more
For someone who has survived the death of their child, describing grief as a journey perpetuates the myth that, eventually, there’s an end point. Read more
Many of the ways that children grieve differently from adults can go unrecognized and unprocessed. Read more
Our last Clinician’s Quandary on helping clients—and ourselves—navigate grief work received an overwhelming number of responses. So many, in fact, that... Read more
Many grief specialists talk about helping clients finding meaning after loss. But often, loss feels meaningless. One therapist working with grieving clients... Read more
When you do the work that we do, it’s important to find ways to take care of yourself. You can’t always carve out lots of time to devote to self-care, but... Read more
It’s critical for clinicians to recognize anniversary reactions. When clients describe their experiences as depression, we naturally think of solutions like... Read more
As all of us in the United States move into the coming months, a full year into COVID life, our personal losses will come into focus. If we don’t process... Read more
The legacies of extraordinary people we’ve lost invite us to embrace the examples they’ve left behind. But how exactly do we do it? Read more
Our soul and our psyche know how to grieve. We don't need to learn it. It's not a technique. What we need to learn is not to avoid it. Read more
What practical guidance can you offer a therapist whose personal grief is so deep that she's finding it hard to stay present for clients? Six clinicians weigh... Read more
These days, many of us are feeling increasingly anxious and upset. But how do we know whether we're experiencing trauma, or just grieving? And how can we... Read more
The story of a miscarriage is often about crushed hope, but it can also bring unexpected possibility. Read more
When a loved one dies, it’s easy to get stuck in your pain. But if you can find meaning in even the most senseless loss, you can do more than just get... Read more
Of the thousands of meaningful sessions that take place in a therapist’s office, certain ones stand out. During the Networker Symposium's evening of... Read more
In the wake of a loved one’s suicide, therapists must have the patience to sit with clients as the slow and painful process of healing unfolds. CASE... Read more
Over the course of my career, numerous world events have entered my office. But none of them prepared me for grieving the murder of Catherine, my client of 15... Read more
When our clients are facing their own mortality, how can we guide them in a way that's both compassionate and realistic? In the following video, therapist... Read more
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