How can grief therapy help a cancer patient?

Grief therapy can be thought of as a more intensive form of grief counseling, which is designed to help patients work through the stages of grief by participating in individual or group counseling sessions. Grief therapy is typically reserved for patients with severe grief reactions and patients experiencing more significant difficulty coping with the inciting event. Similar to grief counseling, grief therapy can be performed through individual and/or group therapy sessions. Six basic methods utilized in grief therapy are summarized below.

• Helping the patient experience, express, and adjust to painful grief-related changes.

• Finding effective ways to cope with painful changes.

• Establishing a continuing relationship with the event (acceptance).

• Staying healthy, mentally and physically, and maintaining daily life activities.

• Reestablishing relationships and understanding that others may have difficulty understanding the situation.

• Developing a healthy image of oneself and the world around them.