Bereavement Counseling
Compassionate Support for Grief, Loss, and Life After
Available: In-person and Telehealth (Statewide in Indiana)
For Community Partners & Referral Sources
Pillars of Wellness works closely with hospices, hospitals, schools, funeral homes, and clergy to support individuals and families navigating loss. If your organization regularly encounters individuals in the early or ongoing stages of grief, we offer:
- Referrals for short- or long-term bereavement counseling
- Clinicians trained in grief, trauma, and complicated loss
- Support for children, teens, adults, and families
- Workshops on grief literacy for staff or community groups
📩 To learn more about partnering with our bereavement team, email info@pillarstherapy.com or call 219-323-3311.
Interested in Working for Pillars?
We’re always looking for passionate, skilled clinicians who want to make a difference in their specialty area while being part of a collaborative and supportive team.
As a member of this Center of Excellence, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Provide focused services in your area of interest
- Collaborate with other program-aligned clinicians
- Receive mentorship, supervision, or leadership opportunities
- Help shape the future of programming and community outreach
- Grow clinically while contributing to innovation and excellence
Whether you’re early in your career or looking to expand your expertise, we’re committed to helping you thrive professionally and make an impact.
✨ [Apply here to join the team]
Who are These Services for?
Bereavement counseling may benefit those who are:
- Grieving the death of a loved one
- Coping with non-death losses such as divorce, illness, or job change
- Supporting a child or teen through grief
- Struggling with spiritual questions or disrupted faith
- Experiencing physical, emotional, or social impacts of grief
- Seeking to find meaning or re-engage in life after a loss
What Is Bereavement Counseling?
Bereavement refers to the state of having suffered a loss—most commonly the death of a loved one. It includes both the emotional and practical journey of adjusting to life afterward, from managing funeral planning to facing daily life in a new reality.
Grief is the internal experience of loss. It is personal, nonlinear, and often unpredictable. Grief can last for months or years and may ebb and flow. There is no “right” way to grieve.
Counseling provides a supportive space to process your experience, explore emotions, and find a path forward that honors both the loss and your capacity to keep living.
Our Services
🧠 Individual Grief Counseling
Private therapy sessions tailored to your unique experience of loss
- Emotional support after a death, breakup, diagnosis, or life disruption
- Tools for managing sadness, guilt, anger, or numbness
- Guidance through spiritual or existential distress
🤝 Family or Group Counseling
Processing grief together can improve communication and collective healing
- Joint sessions for parents and children
- Support groups (offered seasonally or by request)
💬 Counseling for Non-Death Grief
Grief isn’t limited to death. We support those grieving:
- Relationship endings
- Health changes
- Career disruptions
- Life transitions such as moving or retirement
Types of Grief We Address
- Sudden or traumatic loss
- Anticipatory grief (e.g., hospice)
- Loss related to COVID-19
- Miscarriage, infertility, or pregnancy loss
- Loss of a pet or symbolic losses
- Disenfranchised grief (loss that is not widely recognized or supported)
Grief Reactions May Include
Physical symptoms:
- Fatigue, headaches, stomach upset
- Changes in sleep or appetite
Emotional symptoms:
- Distraction or forgetfulness
- Irritability, sadness, anger
- Anxiety or emotional numbness
Spiritual symptoms:
- Feeling closer to or disconnected from faith
- Questioning life’s meaning or purpose
Five Stages of Grief (Kübler-Ross Model)
- Denial – “This can’t be happening.”
- Anger – “Why is this happening to me?”
- Bargaining – “If only I had…”
- Depression – “This hurts too much to bear.”
- Acceptance – “This is my new reality.”
These stages are not linear and may not apply to everyone. They are a framework—not a formula—for understanding the grieving process.
Resources
Recommended reading for those grieving or supporting others:
- Bearing the Unbearable by Joanne Cacciatore, PhD
- Staring at the Sun by Irvin D. Yalom
- Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff
- Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief by David Kessler
Getting Started
📞 If you or a loved one is seeking support through grief, our administrative team can help you connect with a bereavement counselor. We’ll walk you through available services, answer your questions, and help determine the best next steps for care or collaboration.