Telegram and Gazette Article - "No One Size Fits all in Grief Counseling"

 "No one-size-fits-all in grief counseling - Professional help sometimes needed"
Elaine Thompson, Worcester Telegram and Gazette Tuesday December 27th, 2011
http://www.telegram.com/article/20111227/NEWS/112279947

"Kathleen B. Quinn, a clinical social worker and therapist with an office in Holden, said the hardest part of grieving is accepting the loss. Judging yourself for your emotions keeps you in denial, she said.

“Give yourself permission to have those moments,” she advised. It’s also important that people who are grieving take care of themselves and not over-isolate nor over-extend themselves.

Time really does heal the emotional wound of losing a loved one. But parents’ loss of a child is and something they never get over. Instead, they learn to live with it, Ms. Quinn said.

Giving back to others will help ease the pain of losing a loved one.

“Loss creates a void. Helping others doesn’t fill that void, but it satisfies a need for unconditional giving without expectations of reciprocation,” she said. “You sort of just feel like it helps to give back. It’s almost a relief. You say, ‘OK, finally, I’m the one who is helping. I’m not the victim.’ ”