Every one of us at some time in our lives will have to deal with the emotional upheaval of the death of a loved one. We now it will happen but it is one of those events that very few people are truly prepared for. Loss and grief can overwhelm us emotionally and create the feeling that life is out of balance.

Every aspect of life is different and forever changed with emotions of anger, remorse, numbness, and sadness triggered by everyday life. Often thoughts will race, sleep is impossible, and even happiness and laughter can open up feelings of guilt.

Grief is not an illness from which a person recovers; rather, it is a gradual process of transformation. It is a time when even the simplest of things can seem uncertain as we learn to live with new feelings while integrating the loss into the fabric of our lives.

This is the time when working with a counselor who specializes in grief work can assist in making the experience more bearable. A well trained grief therapist will not take the pain away but they will listen to all aspects of the loss and provide tools for the living to continue on with their lives and recover a state of equilibrium.