The Importance of Bereavement Counselling

Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult and painful experiences life throws our way. The process of grieving can feel overwhelming, and it is during this time that bereavement counselling can offer much-needed support. In this blog post, we will explore the significance of bereavement counselling, its benefits, and how it can help individuals navigate the challenging journey of grief.

1. Understanding Bereavement Counselling:

Bereavement counselling is a specialized form of therapy designed to assist individuals in mourning the loss of a loved one. Trained counsellors provide a safe and empathetic environment, allowing people to express their emotions, memories, and concerns while developing healthy coping strategies.

2. Validating Emotions and Experiences:

Grief is unique to each individual, and bereavement counselling acknowledges and validates this. By Acknowledging and validating the wide range of emotions and experiences that accompany grief, bereavement counselling helps individuals feel heard and understood. It offers a safe space to express and process complex emotions such as sadness, anger, guilt, and confusion. This validation is crucial in the healing process, as it helps individuals to accept and navigate their grief without judgment.

3. Providing Support and Guidance:

Grief can be an isolating experience, and it is common for individuals to feel like no one else understands what they are going through. Bereavement counselling offers a supportive and non-judgmental atmosphere where individuals can share their stories and feelings with someone who has experience in guiding them through the grieving process. Counsellors provide valuable insight, practical coping strategies, and resources that can help individuals cope with the challenges they face.

4. Facilitating Healing and Growth:

Through bereavement counselling, individuals can start to work through their grief and begin the healing process. Counselling sessions provide a structured framework for individuals to process their feelings, thoughts, and memories related to their loss. This process can help individuals gain a deeper understanding of their grief and find ways to heal and grow in the face of loss. Counsellors can help clients identify and develop healthy coping mechanisms, build resilience, and explore strategies for self-care.

5. Creating Connections and Building Support Systems:

Support from friends and family is valuable during times of grieving, but sometimes it may not be enough. Bereavement counselling offers a unique opportunity to connect with others who have experienced similar losses and to build a support network with people who can truly empathize and understand. Group counselling sessions or bereavement support groups can create a sense of community and provide a safe space for individuals to share their stories, receive support, and find solace with others who are going through similar struggles.

6. Moving Forward:

While the pain of loss may never fully go away, bereavement counselling can help individuals find a way to move forward in their lives.

Hello, World.

I have been asked to do a short bio of why I wrote this book and with Christmas soon approaching it seemed as good a time as ever to share honesty, love, and warmth with you all.

I was inspired to write this after attending the funeral of my school friend Lynn Siddons, forty-odd years ago. As some of you know, Lynn was brutally murdered at the tender age of just 16 years old.

She used to call for me to get the bus to school every morning and bring three chocolate biscuits, one for herself, one for me and one for my family dog Flash. (he would escort her home every day after school as well)

When Lynn went missing, the police thought she had run away and I still feel guilty I felt angry at her for not telling me or asking me to go with her. Not that I wanted or needed to run away, nor Lynn for that matter but the police were convinced she had. So when they came to our house to question me about where she was and if I didn’t tell them I’d be in serious trouble, I was angry at her.

It was such a terrible time back then, thoughts flooded my mind as to what she was doing after she died, not fully comprehending the end of our friendship and the way she was murdered, it was all so weird. The whole experience stayed with me and I always wondered that perhaps my old friend may be still around, even if only in a different realm to ours. I wondered if she worked, had met someone, travelled, I wondered if she kept a diary, most teenagers did back then, I did, and so that was the basis of Diaries of Angels.

As the years passed, Diaries of Angels was largely forgotten but I decided to rekindle it when my children were born and wanted to make it a fun aspect rather than a depressing one, where finally the time came to bring the characters to life and share their adventures in Heaven, with us mere mortals.