Stress in counsellors and therapists working with bereavement

Dying, death and bereavement are an intrinsic part of human existence and counsellors and therapists encounter their effects in many different ways when working with clients. A death which happened a long time ago can unexpectedly emerge to become part of ongoing therapy; long-term clients may become seriously ill or suffer a major bereavement; a death can form part of a range of loss situations which prompt someone to seek out counselling support; the specialist bereavement counsellor, in offering an opportunity to focus on the repercussions of this particular form of loss, will be dealing with death again and again.