Grief Counselor

The following job responsibilities are common for individuals in grief counselor roles:

• Counsel patients in a variety of settings, including one-on-one counseling, family counseling, or group counseling
• Provide patients with strategies and guidance designed to overcome grief and move on with life
• Actively listen to patients and encourage them to share their thoughts openly in counseling
• Refer patients to other services and providers when necessary
• Perform administrative functions like appointment scheduling and health insurance billing

A Day in the Life

Grief counselors are experts in helping patients deal with and overcome grief after the loss of a loved one. They see patients who are struggling to overcome grief on their own and provide them with techniques, strategies, and thought-pattern changes that enable patients to overcome grief and move on with their lives. They may provide patients with an education on the stages of grief in order to illustrate that certain thoughts and actions are normal, and they help patients overcome negative thoughts and behaviors resulting from their grief.

Grief counselors most commonly meet with patients in a one-on-one setting, though they may conduct family or group counseling sessions as well. They encourage patients to share their thoughts and feelings openly, and actively listen in order to properly understand and guide patients to better mental health. Counselors do not prescribe medications to patients, so when depression or other disorders cannot be resolved by thought or behavior changes, they may refer patients to other providers.

Many grief counselors work in private practices—either owned by themselves or other counselors or psychologists—so they may have administrative responsibilities as well. They may need to schedule appointments, bill patients and insurance companies, and set up contracts with health insurance providers to ensure coverage for counseling services. In some offices, grief counselors may perform these tasks him/herself; in others, the counselor may employ an assistant for administrative tasks.

Typical Work Schedule

Most grief counselors work full-time schedules. They may choose to work traditional business hours, or they may make themselves available in evenings or on weekends to accommodate patient schedules.

Projected Job Growth

In recent years, more health insurance providers have begun covering mental health counseling services, so more people are taking advantages of these services. This is expected to increase the demand for grief counselors in the coming decade.

Typical Employers

Most grief counselors work in private practices. However, some may also be employed by hospitals, mental health facilities, or large businesses who keep grief counselors on staff to handle instances of employee death that affect large portions of a workforce.