Trying to help a loved one cope with grief, but just don't know what to do? Our unique, practical guide for the friends and families of the bereaved tells you exactly how to help without getting in the way

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Bereavement Counselling.

Sometimes we need a little help from others to ease the pain of our bereavement. Bereavement counselling takes many forms from simply talking to friends and family about how we feel to a more structured approach with a professional bereavement counsellor.

I we can understand the grieving process and see that there is a quite natural cycle that we all go through this in itself helps to show us that we not alone in our feelings. Others have felt the same way and it is quite natural. This simple acknowledgement of the grieving process is a form of bereavement counselling. The following explanation of that process is taken from a site that you might find useful Self in Light.com has a very good section on bereavement counselling.

Key Stages of the Process of Grief

The process of Loss and Bereavement

• 1. Denial and disbelief
  

• 2. Alarm - anxiety, restlessness, physiological accompaniments of fear
  

• 3. Urge to find/search for lost person/object/title/job/security/known situation.
  

• 4. Anger and guilt
  

• 5. Bargaining - in anticipation and reaction to the loss/threatened loss
  

• 6. Despair and depression - internal loss and deprivation
  

• 7. Identification phenomena - adopting traits, habits of deceased/adopting behavior patterns to insure that the loss/perceived loss does not occur again in the person's environment. In the case of job/career security this can be taking on traits of person that is perceived as causing the loss. At this stage one may begin to repress certain aspects of their personality and curtail their instinct to reach and respond in relationship to their environment and world. Withdrawal.
  

• 8. Pathological variants - delayed/prolonged/inability to grieve. Lack of motivation. The loss/perceived loss must be grieved in order to move through the cycle and restructure. It is at this point that many people may feel "stuck", blocked, or feel a virtual victim of circumstance and environment. The feeling of "why try again?" "It's no use." may prevail.
  

• 9. Acceptance - non-acceptance or resignation. This is a decision making interim; and the beginning of recovery as a resolution is mandated at this point.
  

• 10. New identity - reorganization. At this juncture the restructuring begins and all that entails in the process, and individual development.

One of the main elements of bereavement counselling is allowing and helping people who are suffering to express themselves.

It has been said that communication is the universal solvent and it is true that the more one can communicate freely the lighter the burden becomes.

Communication is valid bereavement counselling, there is a site called Grief Healing which has many resources including discussion groups, courses and articles about bereavement counselling.

Another very good resource for bereavement counselling is Growth House.org you will find many resources here and many links to other useful sites.

Bereavement counselling is available and many people take advantage of it to help them cope with the loss of a loved one. I hope that you find some of the resources I have given you here helpful.

Create A Loving Online Memorial Dedicated To Sadly Missed Family Members, Friends Or Loved Ones.........

An Online Memorial is a beautiful and meaningful tribute to the life of your loved one….

• Remember Them As They Were.

• Express Your True Feelings.

• Cherish And Share Your Memories.

Create a truly personalized online memorial which will endure and can be shared with and contributed to by friends and family both near and far....

Creating an online memorial with Sadly Missed.com is very easy-to-do with step-by-step instructions along the way.

You can start your memorial now, and if you are happy with the memorial that you have created, you can then maintain your memorial and host it online for a full 12 months by making a one time donation of only $9.97.

Your online memorial will have a number of different pages which give you the space to express your true feelings and create a loving and personalized tribute to your loved one that you will be proud of:

• The first page will contain your loved ones name, dates, a main photo and your personal tribute.

• The second page is an online photo album dedicated to your loved one, you can upload up to 20 of your cherished photos.

• The life history page gives you the chance to remember the main events of your loved ones life and to include anything else you would like to say. You could include a favourite poem or quote or special message.

• The tributes and condolences page allows friends and family to add their own tribute or message of condolence. You can also add anniversary messages to this page.
  (Tributes sent to your memorial site by anyone else will be sent to you first for approval before they appear on your memorial..)

• You can then choose from 20 beautiful themed backgrounds for your online memorial to reflect your feelings and the character of your loved one.

• Then you can choose background music to create a truly rich and meaningful online memorial.

• You can also add to or edit any part of your memorial at any time.