Grief & Loss Services

Grief counseling becomes necessary when a person is so crippled by their grief, overwhelmed by loss to the extent that their normal coping processes are disabled or shut down.

Grief counseling for adults:

Grief counseling facilitates expression of emotion and thought about the loss, including:

• Sadness
• Anxiety
• Anger
• Loneliness
• Guilt
• Relief
• Isolation
• Confusion
• Numbness.

Grief Counseling includes thinking creatively about the challenges that follow loss, and coping with changes in their lives. Often people feel disorganized, tired, have trouble concentrating, sleep poorly and have vivid dreams, change in appetite.

Grief counseling may be called upon when a person suffers anticipatory grief, for someone may feel that a loved one is going to die but it’s not likely. Anticipatory mourning also occurs when a loved one has a terminal illness. This can handicap that person's ability to stay present whilst simultaneously holding onto, letting go of, and drawing closer to the dying relative.

Grief Counseling for Children:

The Downward Spiral of Hope: Complex Grieving in Children

Hurricane Katrina taught us alot about the grieving process in children. Unless the situation was a dramatic event, such as discovering the body of a parent who committed suicide or being a war refugee child, children's symptoms are often overlooked. But unexpected deaths by natural causes, accidents, or motor vehicle accidents can cause acting out, depression, insomnia, and anxiety. Children may be sad one moment and then seem fine an hour later. This is because children experience grief differently than adults and we expect them to respond to trauma in the same manner. Unlike adults, children do not sit and emote how the trauma has impacted their life.

Complex grieving is different from uncomplicated grieving in the fact that the child does not move through the normal stages of grief. They remain stuck. PTSD symptoms are also present, such as avoidance of reminders of the deceased, emotional numbness,nightmares, excessive irritability, excessive loneliness, and hopelessness. Because of the varying emotional awareness of their parents, these children may become very depressed and hopeless before anyone is aware of their plight. It is very important that these children receive therapy.

A combination of therapies may be the most successful with these children to address the PTSD symptoms and the grief.

Play therapy is an ideal choice because children naturally play in their environment.

Trauma Based-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TB-CBT) is also a good choice because it is proven to be an effective treatment for trauma.

Depending on the whether the symptoms seem to be more truama based or not will determine whether TB-CBT will be the primary therapy with Play Therapy augmenting this treatment. In any case, no one child presents in just the same manner, so it is important to draft a treatment plan specific to the child.

Call us at (407) 248-0030 for help with grief or loss. We have offices located in Orlando, Metrowest, Clermont, Winter Park, Dr Phillips and Windermere areas.

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Office Locations and Areas Served

Total Life Counseling Center provides counseling, therapy, coaching, camps and career services for all of central Florida, including: Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, College Park, Dr. Phillips, Pine Castle, Conway, Windermere, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Oviedo, Longwood, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deland, De Bary, Deltona, Daytona, New Smyrna, Cocoa, Titusville, Merritt Island, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Celebration, Mt. Dora, the Villages and the tri-cities of Tavares, Eustis and Leesburg.

Our counseling, therapy, camps, group, coaching and career services are conveniently located at:

1507 S. Hiawassee Road, Suite 101, Orlando, FL 32835

Lee World-1850 Lee Road Ste. #215, Winter Park, FL 32789

1850 N. Alafaya Trail Building 1-A Orlando, FL 32826 Suite 1A

7432 State Road 50, Groveland, FL 34736

Call us (407) 248-0030

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