{"id":321,"date":"2026-05-09T08:44:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T08:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kgoldtherapy.ca\/?page_id=321"},"modified":"2026-05-09T09:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:44:50","slug":"grief-counseling-chicago","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kgoldtherapy.ca\/?page_id=321","title":{"rendered":"Grief Counseling Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Mourning & Grief Counseling in Chicago<\/span><\/span> <\/h2><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Grief and mourning are natural human reactions to loss<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Loss is one of the most common human experiences, even if painful, and one we all navigate multiple times in our lives. One could say that loss is pervasive, unavoidable, and at times necessary. Loss can not only lead to growth, but it can be essential to move through our journey if we can grieve and mourn.<\/p>

Each person’s journey through grief and mourning is different and there is no one way to grieve and mourn. Honoring and respecting each person’s journey is essential to help someone navigate grief, which is anything but a linear process. The concept of “stages of grief” might give the wrong impression that one will move through it in a stepwise manner. This is not the case. Oftentimes it feels like a roller coaster, with random feelings or memories hitting us when least expected. We need to be compassionate with ourselves when this happens.<\/p>

Grief might also look different for different people. It can be experienced as sadness, longing, loneliness, irritability, loss of interest in life, and other depressive symptoms. In some challenging situations, feelings of hopelessness might emerge. Grief can also be expressed through feelings or behaviors aimed at avoiding sitting with the deep pain of the loss. This includes anything from abusing substances to “over-functioning,” for example over-working or engaging in activities that would keep one’s mind busy to avoid the pain.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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How can grief counseling help?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Grief and mourning can be difficult, sometimes unbearable. Grief counseling can provide a compassionate space to process the loss, accept a painful reality, and understand how it has affected you. Increasing your sense of awareness creates the possibility to process the meaning of the loss, tolerate feelings of grief, and find a renewed sense of meaning and purpose. Mourning is a process of internal transformation. This process looks different for everyone. Grief counseling can help you integrate this experience into your life and regain a sense of direction and hope.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What counts as a loss?<\/h3>

This might seem like an obvious question, but it is helpful to broaden our understanding of what we mean when we talk about loss. By doing so, we can expand our awareness of the role that loss, grief, and mourning play in our lives. This, in turn, can help us make sense of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can be understood as part of those processes.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Losses as endings<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Someone passing away or having a divorce are clear examples of losses as endings. However, endings can sometimes be less concrete. An experience of betrayal can bring an end to the way we understood our reality. When we experience trauma, we might lose our sense of basic safety in our bodies and trust in others. A loved one behaves in ways that make us feel we don\u2019t know them anymore, and we are confronted with the loss of the person we once knew. A medical diagnosis, losing your job, or financial struggles can make us feel like the future we envisioned for ourselves is lost.<\/p>

In all these examples, there is something that comes to an end. Something we once had (a relationship, a vision, an ideal, a sense of reality) is no longer with us.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Losing what we never had<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sometimes the experience of loss is not about something we had and then lost. Loss, grief, and mourning can also involve the loss of what we never had. This is one of the most difficult things we must face in life and usually happens as we understand and process experiences of early trauma or attachment disruptions during our childhood.<\/p>

How can we lose what we never had? When it comes to old wounds created in our families of origin and other relationships, our losses involve experiences we needed to have but were not available to us. We need an environment that is consistent, responsive, unintrusive, and attuned to our needs, in order to develop a sense of self, trust in relationships, and our place in the world. Experiences of psychological, emotional, or physical abuse or neglect create a sense of loss and longing. Over time, these unmourned losses become part of the fabric of our personality and our relationships.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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book an appointment for grief counseling<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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