Books

Finding your way through loss & Grief - A therapist's guide to working through any grieving process

Our life is full of losses and new beginnings. Whilst we are good at dealing with some, there are losses that touch us deeply and are difficult to come to terms with.

 

Whether you have experienced a bereavement, a relationship break-up, job loss, illness, miscarriage or any other loss that is significant to you, this book can help you to make sense of it.

 

It will guide you through those difficult and overwhelming emotions, explaining how these fit into the universal psychological process of grieving – and showing you a path to creating a more content life.

 

You will find a gentle and empathetic approach that will help you work through your grief and receive plenty of insight and tools that will help you fully process your feelings, enabling you to:

  • Understand your loss, identifying what it means to you.
  • Develop acceptance, allowing yourself to move through the grieving process.
  • Learn to express, and not supress, your emotions – without feeling completely overwhelmed.
  • Define where you want to get to, so you are clear on what it is you are working toward.
  • Cope with and adapt to changes, to eventually help you to embrace your new reality.

Editorial reviews

"Christine has successfully presented a coherent guide for working toward healing the numbness, pain and despair following personal loss. She writes sensitively and with undoubted understanding of the process of grief which many people experience, often without having the help necessary to move on from the event. (...) She includes discussions, example case studies and exercises to promote understanding and facilitate processing and healing.

 

She has carefully woven into her model, aspects of therapies and well accepted views about how grief impacts the human mind and body, in a way that demonstrates her extensive research and  knowledge of the subject.  It is an Integrative approach to helping you on your journey from anguish through to acceptance and renewal.

 

Therapists can read and understand the process of grief using this model regardless of their own chosen therapeutic background. As a therapist, I found this book incredibly informative, clear in its discussion, logical in its formulation and respectful of the expectation that therapeutic interventions need to be evidence based tools.

 

I would definitely recommend it for anyone who has experienced loss and is grieving. I would also suggest that anyone who wants to find a way to help others through the darkest times in their lives would benefit from reading it. It is clear, easy to use, forward looking and positive."

 

Maureen Moore 

UKCP Registered Integrative Psychotherapist and EMDR Europe Accredited Supervisor/Consultant

  www.livingrelaxed.com

"An excellent, accessible and inclusive guide for anyone finding themselves overwhelmed and directionless in the grieving process whatever the loss, be it bereavement, relationship break up or other losses we may encounter.

 

The author comes from a place of compassion and experience leading us through the process of understanding the models of grief whilst acknowledging that everyone’s path through loss is unique in both content and time.

 

The book sets out an easy to follow path using proven exercises to help us identify our loss and work through its impact on us and how we feel. Goals are set early in terms of where we want to be in our lives when we have reached a place of acceptance of both our loss and the changes and adjustments that we need to make going forward.

 

A book both for those grappling with loss but also for therapists as it is packed with much useful information. It supports the belief that we ourselves hold the answers for getting through grief and loss and provides the framework to help us." 

 

Anne Scoging 

Psychotherapist and Head of Psychological Health at the London Fire Brigade 

"Psychotherapist Christine Hopfgartens’ ‘Finding Your Way Through Loss & Grief’ is a truly invaluable read, for anyone who is struggling with the pain and suffering that comes with the loss of a loved one. (...) 

 

Christine beautifully engages the reader in such a way, that it feels that she is right by your side, she is a therapist and a companion - as she intertwines personal stories of those touched by loss, blending in psychological theory and the importance of grief for each of us affected.  Treating the reader’s personal grief and loss respectfully and with compassion, helping a person feel understood. She walks you through a step-by-step guide of psychological strategies, exercises to try out, practical ways to learn how to accept and cope with upsetting emotions - to make real and lasting change."

 

Gemma Krier-Mead

Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, Mindfulness Practitioner and Registered Mental Health Nurse