In Grief: Terminating A Counseling Relationship

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In Grief: When A Counseling Relationship Is Ending

A reader writes: My situation isn't really typical of the reasons most people join your forums, but I am experiencing terrible grief and it's not something I can talk to anyone about because most people don't recognize or understand it. I feel incredibly alone.

I've seen a counselor for coming up to three years and she has helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life. I have a tough life with a long-term illness and I have a disabled child so I feel really isolated. I've been fortunate enough to see my counselor free at an agency and I feel really close to her. I'm not close to my family at all as I had a tough upbringing and I don't see my friends very often. I'm a single parent since my marriage broke down 5 years ago.

My counselor told me 4 weeks ago that she is leaving the agency due to personal circumstances.

Caregiving and Hospice, October 2 - October 8, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

"If They Would Just Eat, Everything Would Be Better," http://bit.ly/2dzh4KK « Barbara Karnes RN

Hospice care: The best man for the job is a dog, http://j.mp/2dp1sNc « The Irish Times

Madness! The interference in health care is mesmerizing, http://j.mp/2cO2MrC « Kevin MD

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 2 - October 8, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

6 Vital Ways Dogs Make Life Better! http://j.mp/2dXW67q « The Huffington Post

Grief Before and After the Storm, http://bit.ly/2e9Yo6p « What to Say When Someone Dies

The 'O' Word that Hits Grievers—and What to Do about It, http://j.mp/2dP9u1f « Stunned By Grief

Grief Healing Earns HONcode Certification

I am pleased to report that for the sixth straight year, both the Grief Healing Blog and the Grief Healing Discussion Groups websites have demonstrated full adherence to Health on the Net Foundation’s high HONcode standards. As a result, both sites have earned HONcode certification, which entitles us to continue displaying the HONcode seal on the sites’ home pages through September 2017.

Health On the Net (HON) was founded to encourage the dissemination of quality health information for patients and professionals, and to facilitate access to the latest and most relevant medical data through the use of the Internet. The Health On the Net (HON) Foundation is a non-governmental organization, internationally known for its pioneering work in the field of health information ethics, notably for the establishment of its code of ethical conduct, the HONcode—the oldest and most trusted code for medical and health-related information available on the Internet.

Caregiving and Hospice, September 25 - October 1, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

End-of-Life Care Needs an Overhaul, http://j.mp/2dgzpNo « TIME

Who’s In Your Care Crew? http://j.mp/2dfjjDV « The Unprepared Caregiver

Suicide: Only cause of Top 10 U.S. deaths that's rising, http://j.mp/2dCNRNX « Miami Herald

Understanding and Managing Grief, September 25 - October 1, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

The Uninvited Guest: Making Room for Grief, http://j.mp/2cIXcEU « WhatsYourGrief?

Grief Healing: Where Did You Get That Name? http://j.mp/2daLjHr « Grief Healing

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Coping with Pet Loss, September 25 - October 1, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

I wrote a thing last night about feelings I've been feeling. On Grief and Hamilton, http://bit.ly/2dGoN8A  « Samantha Joyce

What I Learned from Sprinkles, http://bit.ly/2d4ee11 « Moody Speaks

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Grief Healing: Where Did You Get That Name?

[Reviewed and updated September 9, 2025]

Heal-ing: (n) - the process of making or becoming sound or healthy again; (adj) - tending to heal; therapeutic. Example: "a healing experience." Synonyms: alleviate, ease, assuage, palliate, relieve, help, lessen, mitigate, attenuate, allay. ~ Marion Institute

When I was deciding many years ago what name to give my collection of Grief Healing websites, I struggled with whether to use the word “healing” in my title, because I knew that the notion of healing from grief can seem offensive to some. After all, those of us who are anticipating or coping with the loss of a loved one know full well that grief is not an illness to be cured or a physical injury from which we will recover.

Caregiving and Hospice, September 18 - September 24, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Why Bereavement Support is an Essential Component of Hospice and Palliative Care http://j.mp/2csFjqx « Liv On

Can sheer will power keep patients alive in their dying hours? http://bit.ly/2cAUe5m « STAT

RESPECT: An Approach to Death and Dying at End of Life, http://j.mp/2cErgVm « Marin Medicine

Understanding and Managing Grief, September 18 - September 24, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Why Bereavement Support is an Essential Component of Hospice and Palliative Care, http://j.mp/2csFjqx « Liv On

The Death You Die When Someone You Love Dies, http://j.mp/2dnOYkx « John Pavlovitz

64 Tips for Grieving through The Winter Blues, http://j.mp/2cII0VT « What's Your Grief?