When someone loses a loved one, especially a close relative or spouse, that person may experience feelings that were previously unknown to them and this in itself can be quite frightening. To sit with a client in their grief can be hard for the listener, there are no quick fixes, no interventions, paper exercises, no pick me ups or tonics. It is often genuine, raw pain that is presented. The job of the listener is just simply to listen, to validate, to be a constant sounding board, along that persons pathway of heartache. Working through grief can be a long and painful process, but it is necessary to ensure future emotional and physical wellbeing.
A way to define grief might incorporate feelings, emotions and an enormous sense of loss or sorrow that connects with the person who has died. Bereavement describes that sense of grief and loss experienced after a death. When this happens, the process of mourning might evoke further unfelt emotions such as: numbness, anger, sadness, shock, disbelief and even relief, depending on the circumstances.