Why Grief-Informed Training Is Essential for Therapists

Grief is something almost every therapist will encounter in their work. A client may come to therapy because someone they love has died, but grief can also sit underneath anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, trauma, identity changes, or a major life transition.

And grief does not always arrive as a straightforward request for “grief counselling.”

A client may say they cannot sleep. They may feel disconnected from other people. They may be struggling with guilt, anger, anxiety, or a loss of meaning. They may be trying to adjust to life after a divorce, estrangement, serious illness, the death of a pet, the loss of a career, or another experience that has fundamentally changed their world.

For therapists, this means that understanding grief is about more than knowing a few stages or offering comforting words. Grief-informed practice involves understanding the many ways loss can affect a person's emotional life, relationships, identity, functioning, and sense of meaning, while recognizing that there is no single way to grieve.

Grief Is Not a Problem That Needs to Be Fixed

One of the most important principles of grief-informed therapy is recognizing the difference between grief and mental disorder.

Grief can involve intense sadness, anger, guilt, longing, numbness, difficulty concentrating, changes in sleep and appetite, and periods of feeling disconnected from everyday life. These experiences can be painful without necessarily indicating that something is clinically wrong.

At the same time, grief can become complicated by other mental health concerns, and a minority of bereaved people develop a persistent and impairing pattern known as Prolonged Grief Disorder. Current research distinguishes this condition from the broader experience of bereavement and supports psychotherapy as the primary treatment when Prolonged Grief Disorder is present (LaPlante et al., 2024; Simon & Shear, 2024).

This distinction matters.

A grief-informed therapist does not assume that intense grief needs to be eliminated simply because it is uncomfortable. Instead, the therapist considers the person's individual circumstances, how the loss has affected their functioning, and whether their experience is evolving over time.

Grief Does Not Follow a Universal Timeline

People sometimes arrive in therapy worried that they are grieving “wrong.”

They may believe they should be feeling better by now. They may be frightened because they suddenly feel devastated after a period when they thought they were doing better. They may feel guilty because they are laughing again, enjoying themselves, or beginning to imagine a future.

Grief does not follow a predictable timetable.

Research on bereavement supports considerable individual variation in the intensity and course of grief. Some people experience substantial distress that gradually decreases, while others have more persistent difficulties. Risk factors for prolonged grief symptoms include characteristics of the loss, the relationship with the deceased, previous mental health difficulties, and other personal and social factors (Buur et al., 2024).

A grief-informed therapist therefore avoids imposing a predetermined schedule for recovery.

The question is not simply, “How long has it been?”

It is also, “How is this person doing, and what is happening in their life now?”

Grief Can Intersect With Other Mental Health Concerns

Grief rarely exists in a neat clinical category.

A bereaved client may also be experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, sleep difficulties, substance use, relationship problems, or significant changes in their physical health. Research suggests particularly strong relationships between prolonged grief symptoms and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, with evidence that these difficulties can influence one another over time (Janshen & Eisma, 2024).

This is one reason grief-informed therapy requires flexibility.

For one client, grief may be the central concern. For another, the loss may have activated longstanding depression or trauma. Someone else may be struggling primarily with the changes the loss has created in their identity, family relationships, or sense of security.

Understanding the grief does not mean ignoring other mental health concerns. It means understanding how the pieces fit together.

Not All Loss Involves Death

Bereavement is one form of grief, but people can experience profound grief following many other kinds of loss.

Divorce can involve grieving a relationship, a family structure, or an imagined future. Estrangement can involve the pain of losing a relationship while the other person is still alive. Serious illness can change someone's identity, independence, abilities, or expectations for the future.

A person may grieve the loss of a career, home, fertility, physical ability, financial security, community, or sense of who they thought they were.

Some losses are openly recognized by others, while others are difficult to explain or receive little social acknowledgement. This can make the grieving person feel particularly isolated.

For therapists, listening carefully to what the loss means to the individual can be more helpful than deciding in advance whether a particular loss “should” result in grief.

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Why Grief-Informed Knowledge Matters in Therapy

A therapist does not need to be a specialist in grief to support someone who is grieving. However, developing specific knowledge about bereavement can strengthen clinical practice.

Recent research has highlighted the need to assess and develop grief-related competencies among helping professionals. A 2026 study developing the Grief Training Needs Assessment Scale identified distinct areas of pre- and post-death grief competency and found substantial interest in grief-related training among the professionals surveyed (Coelho et al., 2026).

Training can help clinicians recognize when a client's experience falls within the broad range of grief responses and when additional assessment or specialized treatment may be appropriate.

It can also help therapists become more comfortable with conversations that do not have easy answers.

Sometimes the most helpful thing a therapist can do is not provide an explanation, but create enough space for a grieving person to say what has actually happened to them.

Avoiding the Pressure to “Move On”

One of the most common messages grieving people encounter is that they need to move on.

A grief-informed approach recognizes that the goal is not necessarily to forget, stop caring, or return to exactly the person someone was before the loss.

For many people, adapting to loss involves finding ways to live with what has changed while continuing to participate in life.

That may involve remembering the person who died, maintaining meaningful traditions, developing new routines, rebuilding relationships, or finding a different understanding of the future.

This does not mean that every grief experience needs to be framed as growth or meaning-making. Sometimes grief is simply painful. A therapist's role is to make room for the client's experience rather than insisting that the loss must have a positive lesson.

Knowing When Grief Requires More Specialized Treatment

Most people who experience a loss do not develop Prolonged Grief Disorder.

For those who do, however, grief can remain intense and significantly interfere with daily functioning. Current research supports specialized psychological interventions for Prolonged Grief Disorder, with cognitive behavioural approaches among the treatments with the strongest evidence base (Komischke-Konnerup et al., 2024; LaPlante et al., 2024).

A 2025 systematic review of 30 randomized controlled trials also found evidence supporting several psychotherapeutic approaches for Prolonged Grief Disorder, while emphasizing the importance of individualized treatment and the need for further research (Srivastava et al., 2025).

This distinction is important for clinicians. Grief-informed therapy should not turn ordinary mourning into a diagnosis, but neither should a therapist assume that every severe or persistent grief reaction will resolve without additional support.

Assessment, clinical judgment, and attention to the person's functioning and circumstances all matter.

What Does Grief-Informed Therapy Look Like?

There is no single grief therapy that is appropriate for everyone.

Depending on the client's needs, therapy may involve supportive counselling, cognitive behavioural approaches, meaning-focused work, narrative approaches, trauma-focused treatment, or other evidence-based interventions.

Research suggests that psychological interventions can reduce grief symptoms, particularly among people experiencing more significant or persistent grief difficulties. A 2019 meta-analysis of 31 randomized controlled trials found small-to-moderate overall benefits from psychological interventions for grief, although the studies varied considerably in their methods and quality (Johannsen et al., 2019).

More recent research has strengthened the evidence for targeted treatment of Prolonged Grief Disorder. A 2024 meta-analysis of grief-focused cognitive behavioural therapies found significant benefits for prolonged grief symptoms and some related outcomes (Komischke-Konnerup et al., 2024).

The important point is that treatment should be matched to the person rather than forcing every grieving client into the same model.

Grief-Informed Therapy Requires Cultural Humility

There is no universal way to grieve.

Culture, spirituality, family traditions, community, religion, the circumstances of the death, and the person's relationship with the deceased can all influence how grief is understood and expressed.

A therapist's own assumptions about what healthy grieving should look like can therefore become a barrier if they are not examined.

Grief-informed practice involves curiosity.

What does this loss mean to this person?

What traditions or beliefs are important to them?

Who supports them?

What has changed in their life?

What feels most difficult right now?

These questions allow the therapist to understand the client's grief rather than making assumptions about what grief should look like.

Supporting the Therapist Matters Too

Working with grief can be emotionally demanding.

Therapists may hear stories about sudden deaths, traumatic losses, suicide, child loss, complicated family relationships, or circumstances that remind them of their own experiences. Developing professional boundaries and awareness of one's own emotional responses is therefore an important part of sustainable grief work.

Being grief-informed does not mean being unaffected by grief.

It means developing the knowledge and self-awareness needed to remain present with a client's pain without allowing the therapist's own experiences or assumptions to take over the work.

Grief-Informed Care at Authentic Living London

At Authentic Living London, grief is an important part of our clinical work.

Our therapists have pursued additional education and training related to grief, loss, trauma, and end-of-life concerns. This allows us to support clients experiencing a wide range of losses while recognizing that each person's relationship with loss is different.

Our goal is not to tell clients how they should grieve.

We provide a space where clients can talk honestly about what has happened, understand the ways the loss is affecting their lives, and explore what they need as they adjust to a changed reality.

For some people, that may involve working through acute grief. For others, it may mean addressing trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship changes, identity concerns, or persistent grief symptoms.

Grief-Informed Training for Therapists and Helping Professionals

Our interest in grief extends beyond client care.

Through the Authentic Living Institute, we offer grief-informed education for therapists, counsellors, social workers, and other helping professionals who want to develop greater confidence in working with grief and loss.

Training can help practitioners become more comfortable recognizing different grief responses, understanding when grief may require more specialized intervention, considering the intersection between grief and other mental health concerns, and having conversations about loss without relying on outdated assumptions or rigid timelines.

The goal is not to turn every therapist into a grief specialist.

It is to help practitioners feel better prepared when grief walks through the door.

Supporting People Through One of Life's Hardest Experiences

Grief cannot be reduced to a checklist.

It can change relationships, identity, routines, beliefs, and expectations for the future. It can be deeply painful while still being a natural response to losing something or someone important.

For therapists, becoming more grief-informed means learning to hold that complexity.

For clients, it means having a therapist who can recognize the difference between grief that needs space and grief that may need specialized treatment.

At Authentic Living London, we believe both matter.

If you are looking for grief counselling in London, Ontario, our therapists offer compassionate support for adults, teens, children, couples, and families navigating loss. We provide in-person therapy in London and virtual counselling across Ontario.

If you are a practitioner interested in developing your grief-informed skills, our Authentic Living Institute also offers professional education designed to help clinicians feel more confident supporting people through grief and loss.

To learn more, contact Authentic Living London at 226-224-0301 or info@authenticlivinglondon.com.

If you’re a client seeking grief therapy, know that you’ll be met with empathy, understanding, and specialized expertise at Authentic Living London.

If you’re a practitioner, consider joining our training programs to ensure your clients receive the grief-informed care they deserve.

Gabrielle Ferguson, BA, MACP, founder of Authentic Living London and Authentici Living Institute is a registered psychotherapist who specializes in grief therapy as well as people pleasing/perfectionism and religious trauma. She provides keynotes speaking and workshops on grief as well as virtual individual therapy.

References

Buur, C., Zachariae, R., Komischke-Konnerup, K. B., Marello, M. M., Schierff, L. H., & O'Connor, M. (2024). Risk factors for prolonged grief symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 107, 102375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102375

Coelho, A., et al. (2026). Development and initial validation of the grief training needs assessment scale (GTNAS). Death Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2628747

Janshen, A., & Eisma, M. C. (2024). Bidirectional associations between prolonged grief symptoms and depressive, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms: A systematic review. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 37(6), 825–836. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.23061

Johannsen, M., Damholdt, M. F., Zachariae, R., Lundorff, M., Farver-Vestergaard, I., & O'Connor, M. (2019). Psychological interventions for grief in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Affective Disorders, 253, 69–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.04.065

Komischke-Konnerup, K. B., Zachariae, R., Boelen, P. A., Marello, M. M., & O'Connor, M. (2024). Grief-focused cognitive behavioral therapies for prolonged grief symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 92(4), 236–248. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000884

LaPlante, C. D., Hardt, M. M., Maciejewski, P. K., & Prigerson, H. G. (2024). State of the science: Psychotherapeutic interventions for prolonged grief disorder. Behavior Therapy, 55(6), 1303–1317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2024.07.002

Simon, N. M., & Shear, M. K. (2024). Prolonged grief disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 391(13), 1227–1236. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMcp2308707

Srivastava, T., Lee, K., Ehrenkranz, R., Cozzolino, P. J., Wise, F. A., Burns, M., McCormick, T., Yaden, D., Agrawal, M., & Penberthy, J. K. (2025). The efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions for prolonged grief disorder: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 380, 561–575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.173