Holistic grief coaching: a different approach to bereavement
I recently wrote a post about the difference between nutritional therapists and dieticians because there’s often some confusion around these titles. For similar reasons, in this post I’m going to explain the differences between traditional bereavement support and grief coaching. Grief coaching is fast gaining popularity and credibility but is more common in the US at the moment. In the UK, many people are only aware of bereavement counselling or psychotherapy as a means for supporting loss. Below, I will explain why grief coaching can be a viable alternative, especially those who are looking for a more interactive approach to grief.
Holistic grief coaching provides a different approach to bereavement.
What traditional bereavement support and grief coaching both offer
For many who have experienced a loss, their first thought is to seek support from a traditional bereavement counsellor. This is usually because this is the only type of support they know about. And it can be helpful, provided you find someone who is the right fit for your needs. Pretty much all grievers need someone to listen to them with empathy and compassion, to sit with them in their pain and validate their feelings. Both a grief coach and a bereavement counsellor can fill this role for you.
But what if you need more than this?
Everyone’s experience of grief is different and its depth and intensity will depend on many complex factors. What if you want some tangible strategies to help you navigate your loss? You don’t want to stay stuck in your pain, you want someone to help you move out of it. Someone who understands the grieving process better than you do and who can provide workable suggestions to ease your path. This is certainly what grief coaching can provide, helping you to feel you’re proactively addressing your grief. And what if you’d like support from someone who truly gets your loss, who has walked in your shoes? This may feel especially important when the loss has been traumatic and when you have lost of a child or partner. Working with someone who shares a similar experience to your own can allow you to feel really understood and properly heard. It may also offer hope that you too can survive…
Research about the quality of grief support provided by mental health professionals
When I wrote my book ‘Your Grieving Client: A Guide for Wellness Practitioners’, I was shocked to uncover some research about how bereaved clients felt they were not being properly supported. One study found that almost 46 per cent of clients did not find their mental health professional helpful during their grief. Another found that people who had received grief support were left feeling ‘frustrated, confused, abandoned, and overwhelmed at a particularly vulnerable time’. The conclusion from this study was that therapists must be trained better in grief in order to improve current standards, to be properly educated about the research on what actually helps different types of grieving clients, and to be able to offer appropriate suggestions. Prospective clients assume that a professionally qualified therapist will have the expertise to help them with their grief. They assume training and expertise, specifically in grief, will be a given. Of course, there are really good therapists and counsellors out there who can help with bereavement, but the reality is there are many who, for whatever reason, may not. Traditional grief counselling and therapy is assumed to be the gold standard. And it can be, but there are other equally valid ways you can be supported through your grief. Perhaps the moral of the tale is to be thorough when researching someone to support you after a loss. It’s really important to establish whether they have sufficient expertise and experience specifically in grief. It’s also helpful to know if they are trained and experienced in working with your particular loss, and that they’re a good fit for your particular needs.
Grief cannot be fixed but it can be supported
The reality of grief is that there is no panacea, no magic formula and no one practitioner or therapist who can ‘solve’ or ‘fix’ grief. Some losses are inevitably hard to bear. Grief can be an isolating experience, so the importance of talking to, or working with, someone who walks in your shoes cannot be underestimated. This is why I now support clients through my own method of grief support.
Why I became a holistic grief coach
My holistic grief coaching sessions are more pro-active than conventional bereavement support and I adapt sessions to the individual, depending on what you need. But I always start by listening to your story. I may then go on to offer practical advice, coping mechanisms and strategies for emotional and physical health and wellbeing. I have now worked with hundreds of grieving people, combining my professional skills with my personal experience of multiple significant losses to give you the support that I wish I was offered, but was unable to find. Would you like to find out more? You can read about the sessions I offer here Or contact me for further information: vanessa@wellbeingandnutrition.co.uk