Grief is a natural response to loss. It might be the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, or a way of life, like many of us are experiencing during COVID. Today's special guest is Bridget Caletka, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas, and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York. Bridget has ten years of direct counseling experience within academics, agency, and outpatient mental health settings, and a particular focus of her practice is working with grieving clients. She helps clients with end of life issues, those coping with serious or chronic illnesses, and provides crisis intervention for individuals and organizations in the aftermath of tragedies, such as the sudden death of a loved one. In this episode, we talk about grief – the five stages of the process, some misconceptions about it, and understanding when to get professional help. Bridget shares some words of advice for those in bereavement, including turning towards feelings of grief rather than suppressing them and, while grief never fully goes away, hope and transformation are possible. Listeners hear about the power of fully inhabiting our grief, creating micro-rituals, and Bridget shares some of her favorite resources, as well as what to do to help a bereaved loved one. Learn more about grief and grieving in today’s episode of Hope Pieced Together.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Bridget introduces herself, her practice, and shares a bit about her background.
• Living in a grief-avoidant culture, and how that makes grief more difficult.
• Why Joanne Cacciatore says the world is not a safe place for grievers.
• How the five stages of grief inform us about the grief process – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.
• Sometimes, individual family members can experience different stages or forms of grief.
• Grief often coincides with trauma, and trauma can be the result of big or small losses.
• Death, loss, and grief are universal, but some people may feel it more deeply than others.
• The importance of turning towards difficult feelings rather than resisting or suppressing them.
• Understanding that grief never fully goes away but rather transforms over time.
• When to seek professional help – grief becomes problematic when it is not attended to.
• Bridget talks about the intensity and duration of what she calls “normal” grief.
• What to look for in a counselor to help you navigate the grief process.
• Bridget explains why it’s important to tell your counselor when they mess up.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Bridget Caletka on LinkedIn

Bridget Caletka on Facebook

Forge My Path

On Death and Dying

On Grief and Grieving

Center for Loss & Life Transition

Bearing the Unbearable

All Our Losses, All Our Griefs