Grief Counselling in Singapore
At TYHO, we go above and beyond to ensure you receive the highest quality grief counselling in Singapore.
- Singapore-based counselling platform
- 98% of our clients would recommend TYHO
- Customised therapeutic plan
- Online & In-person (various locations)
- 70+ vetted & multicultural counsellors in Singapore
- Same day & after hours (incl weekend) sessions available
Grief Therapists Who Can Help
Have you considered counselling in Singapore to navigate grief? Below are some of our Singaporean Therapists who may be able to assist.
Hence, at TYHO, we help you with grief counselling in Singapore so that you can cope better with loss and feel less lonely during a vulnerable stage of your life.
Grief is what we experience when we lose someone we love.
Although a very common emotional response to loss, grief can sometimes consume you entirely – which may then negatively affect your life. For example, you may avoid seeking new relationships or becoming avoidant in your current ones.
Hence, at TYHO, we help you with grief counselling in Singapore so that you can cope better with loss and feel less lonely during a vulnerable stage of your life.
Grief Counselling in Singapore
At TYHO, Therapists in Singapore provide grief counselling to help you understand and manage your emotions while grieving.
During therapy sessions, your Therapist may use acceptance-based interventions. The therapeutic tools help and let them pass.
Your sessions may begin by building rapport with your Therapist. Actively focusing on developing a positive relationship with your Therapist can help set the foundation of therapy.
Sare your grief as authentically as you can. In fact, several emotions like anger and guilt are often intertwined with grief. Hence, try to articulate all your emotions.
Grief counselling in Singapore can help with all types of loss, including:
- Death
- Quitting a job
- Unemployment
- Divorce
- Break-ups
- Losing contact with family members
- Moving on from a friendship
- Unrequited love
Symptoms of Grief
Unresolved grief can lead to a strong reliance on maladaptive habits or harmful coping mechanisms.
Common symptoms of grief include:
The Stages of Grief
TYHO counsellors trained in grief management can help you work through the stages of grief. Learning about how your grief works through tools and techniques could help you handle the associated stressors.
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross originally developed the stages of grief.
The 5 stages of grief are not linear. Meaning, you may experience these randomly, out of order, one after the other, or relapse to initial stages later in life.
The stages are as follows:
The Different Types of Grief
Read this section to understand more about the types of grief.
1. Complicated Grief
When you are sad, frustrated, or angry for a long period of time, and when these emotions affect your life in a negative way – you may have complicated grief.
Complicated grief is also known as persistent complex bereavement disorder.
At TYHO, counsellors in Singapore use clinical interventions to help you better understand your personal experience with grief and how you respond to it.
Some common signs of complicated grief include:
- Feeling hopeless
- Struggling to remember pleasant memories of the loss (eg either a loved one or a cherished memory)
- Avoiding things and situations that remind you of your loss
- Lacking an understanding of yourself and your emotions
- Withdrawing or isolating from friends and family
- Lacking the motivation to work or pursue interests
2. Traumatic Grief
Trauma occurs when you go through something stressful, frightening, or distressing. Trauma can be either emotional, psychological, or physical (eg physical abuse or violence).
Traumatic grief may occur when you suddenly and violently lose a loved one. For example, losing someone in an accident or due to a hate crime (ie harming someone due to their gender, race, sex, or religion) could cause traumatic grief.
Your emotions may be intense and magnified by the shock and trauma surrounding the incident.
At TYHO, Therapists may use trauma-informed grief counselling to help you process your trauma and cope with your complicated emotions.
3. Broken Heart
Broken heart syndrome is a rare but severe type of grief. It is also called stress-induced cardiomyopathy.
Although a temporary heart condition, it can feel similar to having a heart attack. You may have a broken heart syndrome if you were triggered by any overwhelming situation, such as losing someone you loved deeply, including, through divorce or a break up.
Since grief manifests itself in different ways, some people may recover in a few days. However, others may struggle to understand their feelings and find it hard to manage their emotions.
Hence, if you struggle with broken heart syndrome, grief counselling can help you address the repressed thoughts and feelings you may have about the event.
4. Depression and Grief
Other mental health conditions, such as chronic depression, could exist along with your grief.
If you have depression, you may experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest in your regular activities.
Your depression could be a direct result of the loss you faced or may even be present for a long time. However, experiencing both grief and depression could be hard and lonely.
Hence, at TYHO, our psychotherapists in Singapore could help you identify the differences between both emotions and how one affects or influences the other and teach you evidence-based tools to manage the symptoms.
If your grief is left unresolved, you may also start noticing symptoms of anxiety and other issues.
During such situations, it is important to seek help to prevent yourself from resorting to unhelpful coping habits such as self-blame or alcohol consumption.
Myths and Facts About Grief
Grief is an inevitable emotion everyone experiences at some point in life, often as a response to loss. Despite its universality, there are numerous misconceptions surrounding this emotional state.
In this section, we will debunk common myths and facts about grief.
Treatment
Benefits of Grief Counselling in Singapore
Grief Counselling Techniques and Interventions
This section outlines six common grief counselling techniques and interventions that TYHO Therapists may use to support you.
1. Talk Therapy
Talk therapy or psychotherapy, is where you can talk about your experiences with a professional Therapist.
At TYHO, Therapists in Singapore offer face-to-face sessions and online sessions to help you:
- Manage your emotions
- Understand your grief
- Cope with feelings of sadness and guilt
- Find meaning and purpose in life
Please click the full profile of Therapists to look for someone you feel comfortable with. Here, you can read about a professional’s qualifications, specialisations, issues they can help with and therapeutic approaches they might use during sessions.
2. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence-based approach.
Your Therapist may use cognitive-based therapies to help you identify negative thought patterns and beliefs that make it difficult to process the grief (eg “I am the reason my loved one is not alive”).
Moreover, the Therapist may help you re-write narratives about your loss (eg changing stories about why you believe the loss happened or what role you had in contributing to the loss).
3. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is an ACT tool.
Your Therapist will provide you with a non-judgmental awareness of the present moment and show you unconditional support regardless of how you grieve the loss.
For example, some people may find it hard to cry (usually the most common and, in fact, ‘expected’ response to loss) after losing a loved one.
While people around them may unintentionally invalidate the way someone grieves, therapy could provide the space for all types of grieving and coping mechanisms.
4. Complicated Grief Treatment (CGT)
CGT is an intervention used by Therapists if you have intense or prolonged grief symptoms (ie complicated grief).
During CGT, your Therapist may draw from multiple approaches, such as CBT and interpersonal therapy.
You can learn how to address your emotions, rebuild your life and find meaning after loss.
CGT borrows from seven core elements:
- Acknowledging and understanding grief
- Coping with emotional pain
- Actively thinking about future plans
- Building deeper connections with existing relationships
- Sharing the story of loss
- Learning therapeutic strategies to love with memories
- Creating a connection to the reminders of the deceased
5. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a type of approach your Therapist might use to help you accept your pain and the reality of loss.
Your psychotherapist may focus on working with you to take active steps to reinforce your core personal values.
To do so, you may be guided to distance yourself from your experiences. The process of distancing yourself provides a more objective idea of your emotions, almost as if perceiving them from a third point of view.
Therapists in Singapore will help you focus on your future goals. Goal setting can instil a sense of purpose and turn your self-awareness into actionable steps that you can take to manage your grief.
6. Rituals
Rituals are physical or mental habits that one may engage in to cope.
Therapists may use structured and personalised rituals to help you cope with loss of your loved one.
Examples of rituals could include:
- Writing a letter and letting it float in the ocean
- Chanting a prayer every day
- Hosting ceremonies
Grief Counselling for Children
Children may process and understand the concept of grief differently.
Between the ages of two and four, kids may not understand death. If a loved one passes away, the child may assume that their disappearance is temporary.
Since children in these ages have yet to develop language and communication skills, they may find it difficult to articulate their feelings.
During this time, a child psychologist in Singapore can help kids identify and label their emotions in a way they understand.
Between the ages of five and eight, children may ask questions about death and begin to understand the concept of loss.
Child psychologists may use slightly advanced tools to provide explanations in a sensitive manner.
Between the ages of nine and twelve, children may have already understood the concept of death and grief.
How Does Grief Counselling Help Children?
Grief counselling at TYHO can help children:
- Understand why they are feeling sad, frustrated, or angry
- Manage their feelings of grief
- Express their emotions in a way that makes them comfortable (eg painting or dancing)
For example, children may cry or feel angry after a loss but may not understand that what they are feeling is grief or sadness.
Therapists may also:
- Use role play to explain the concept of death
- Explain the child’s feelings in simple terms
- Use art therapy to help manage the kids’ emotions
Grief Counselling for Teens
Teens may have a better understanding of grief, yet still struggle to grieve healthily.
As teenagers become more impulsive, they may rely on unhealthy habits to cope. These could include:
- Isolating (eg having no friends)
- Consuming alcohol
- Having reckless sex
- Distancing themselves from family members
How Does Grief Counselling Help Teens?
Counselling in Singapore can provide a space where teenagers can initiate conversations and discuss their feelings without the fear of being ridiculed or infantilised (ie treating someone in a way that denies their maturity).
Therapists may help by:
- Providing support to grieve safely
- Validating their emotions, regardless of how intense or why kind they are
- Developing the teenager’s relationship with their loved ones
It can help to support teenagers either through family counselling in Singapore (ie where family members attend therapy together to cope with the grief) or showing support through being non-judgemental and providing unconditional love.
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