Types of Grief
Grief emerges from loss of something meaningful
Grief is an emotion, an experience, a struggle, a triumph, and so much more for each an every griever in the world. The two overarching ways grief occurs is either through a death loss or a non-death loss.
Death loss can include:
- Anticipatory grief - anticipation of loss
- Complicated grief - intense and continouse grief emotions
- Common grief - natural grief response
- Traumatic grief - loss caused by sudden and/or violent death
- Disenfranchised grief - lacks societal support
- Delayed grief - grief response emerges later than the occurance of the loss
Non-Death loss can include:
- Non-finite grief - ongoing grief, such as, from chronic illness
- Anticipatory grief - anticipation of loss
- Ambiguous grief - loss without a sense of closure, such as with missing persons
Other types of grief:
- Compounded grief - multiple losses within a short period of time
- Collected grief - grief experienced by a community
- Parasocial grief - grief felt for a celebrity's death or loss
- Transgenerational grief - grief passed down through generations
Death Loss
Experiencing loss through death
Death loss can cause extreme emotional distress, numbness, shock, physical difficulties, a shaken up sense of safety, loss of self, and many other impacts. Grief work happens as one processes the loss they have experienced. The grief work process can be supported through resources, professional support, community support, and self-care.
In therapy, grief is supported through non-judgemental understanding that includes observing the nuanaced and unique experience it is for each client.
Non-Death Loss
Loss that occurs from causes other than death
Non-death losses include loss of realtionships, health loss, job/career loss, loss of purpose, loss of home, loss of community, loss of faith, or any other loss that is impactful in a persons life but it is not a loss by death.
Non-death losses can be layered, nuanced, traumatic, and specific to one's overall life. In therapy, non-death losses are processed through a person-centered approach using the holitic and integrative model to meet the unique needs of the client.
