Grief counselling (tasks, dual process, continuing bonds)

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · J. William Worden, Margaret Stroebe, Henk Schut · 1996

What it is

This is not a single manualised therapy. It is three practitioner models that are usually combined in bereavement counselling:

Format

• Factors that affect mourning (Worden's book, ch. 3 "Mediators of mourning"; the 5th ed. adds social variables). Student study notes on the book group the factors that hinder grieving as follows:
• Format and timing:

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Oscillation between LO and RO, including time off, is how grief is regulated.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Rising confidence and real-world attempts.
• Substance misuse may need its own treatment.
• New skills and growing competence. Also watch for overload (B4).
• A spike in grief around these dates is expected. Normalise it beforehand.
• Distressing recurrent dreams of the death itself are trauma-related; see §5.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.