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Grief Counseling

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Grief Counseling, Counselor Competence, and a Christian Perspective

Liberty University

Abstract

Grief is a common universal experience that everyone is faced with at some point in their lives. In today’s society, more people are turning to professional grief counselors for help dealing with his or her loss through acceptance in order to move forward in their lives. Different types of grief are discussed, as well as different strategies, interventions, and techniques used depending of the level of distress. Everyone handles grief differently and grieves in different ways for different lengths of time, requiring different counseling interventions. Grief counseling classes or training is not currently a part of curriculum guidelines, leaving the question “Are grief counselors competent to counsel grieving individuals?” This question is answered, and the benefit of trained grief counselors is explored. In a culturally diverse world, counselor consideration of culture is equally important in grief counseling. The paper ends with a Biblical and Christian Counselor perspective on grief counseling theories and practices.

Grief Counseling, Counselor Competence, and a Christian Perspective Grief occurs in response to a loss including death, separation from a loved one, losing a job, kids leaving home, divorce, or a move. It is a natural response to death or loss. Ober, Granello, and Wheaton (2012) define grief as, “the emotion generated by an experience of loss and characterized by sorrow and/or distress and the personal and interpersonal experience of loss” (p. 150). Howarth (2011) states grief is the emotional, psychological, cognitive, and behavioral reactionsl to loss (p. 4). Although defined differently, loss is a common life experience that causes grieving, which can impair emotional, cognitive, and behavioral functioning (Altmaier, 2011).

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