Prolonged Grief Disorder: Finding Hope and Healing with Expert Clinical Hypnotherapy and Counselling Services in Limerick, Newcastle West, Cork, Midleton, Youghal and Online Ireland

Grief is a universal experience, yet for some of us, the natural process of mourning becomes a cycle that won’t break. As a highly experienced clinical medical hypnotherapist, psychotherapist, counsellor and registered nutritionist using functional medicine—with over 20 years’ dedicated practice working with children and adults—I’ve witnessed how prolonged grief disorder (PGD) can entrap even the strongest of spirits. In this in-depth guide, you will discover:

• What PGD is, how it differs from “ordinary” grief, and why early intervention matters

• The hallmark symptoms and scientifically validated risk factors

• How integrative therapies—hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, counselling and nutrition—can guide you or your loved one from a sense of stuckness to  gentle renewal

• Why entrusting your care to a specialist therapist such as Claire Russell Therapy in Limerick, Newcastle West Limerick, Cork or Youghal CORK—or via our online service—ensures personalised support tailored to adults and children alike

Whether you’re seeking a therapist for prolonged grief in Limerick, counselling services in Newcastle West Limerick, a psychologist in Cork specialising in bereavement, or mental health services in Youghal CORK, this article illuminates the path to recovery and invites you to book an appointment today.

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Understanding Prolonged Grief Disorder

Grief is a natural and necessary response to losing someone dear. For most, the ache of absence slowly softens over months, with the memories become comforting rather than tormenting, and gradually our daily life regains its balance¹. Prolonged grief disorder (PGD), however, arises when that process becomes “stuck”: the yearning remains acute, and functional impairment persists beyond culturally expected timeframes².

• Definition and Diagnostic Criteria

  • Adults: intense grief symptoms persisting for 12 months or more³

  • Children and adolescents: symptoms continuing six months or more⁴

• Core Features

  1. Separation distress – unrelenting longing, preoccupying thoughts of the deceased⁵

  2. Additional symptoms – emotional numbness, difficulty engaging in life, avoidance of reminders, profound loneliness⁶

  3. Impairment – grief reactions exceeding social norms and significantly harming daily functioning⁷

By recognising PGD as a formal diagnosis in DSM-5-TR and ICD-11, mental health professionals can apply targeted treatments proven to alleviate its burden⁸.

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When Grief Becomes Disorder: How to Tell

Temporary surges of grief around anniversaries or milestones are normal; in PGD these feelings never sufficiently abate⁹.

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Risk Factors That Entrench Grief

Several elements can impede natural grief progression and predispose to PGD:

1. Traumatic or Sudden Loss: Unexpected or violent deaths intensify shock and complicate mourning¹⁰.

2. Close Relationship: Losing a spouse, child or primary caregiver often leads to deeper shock¹¹.

3. Unhelpful Cognitions: Rumination, catastrophising and self-blame can trap you in painful thought loops¹².

4. Avoidance Behaviours: Evading reminders prevents emotional processing essential for integration¹³.

5. Pre-existing Mental Health Concerns: Anxiety, depression or prior substance misuse raise vulnerability¹⁴.

6. Lack of Social Support: Isolation removes vital sources of validation and comfort¹⁵.

Understanding these factors highlights why specialised, compassionate care is crucial—and why seeking a psychologist specialising in prolonged grief in Cork or a therapist in Limerick makes all the difference.

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Why Integrative Clinical Hypnotherapy and Functional Medicine with Nutrition Work

1. Clinical Hypnotherapy for Deep Emotional Processing

Hypnotherapy guides you into a focused, safe state of awareness in which unhelpful beliefs and trauma can be accessed and reframed. This gentle, yet powerful approach:

• Reduces hyper-arousal and intrusive memories

• Facilitates emotional release at a subconscious level

• Serves adults and children equally, adapting language and imagery for developmental stages¹⁶

“Clinical hypnotherapy provides a bridge between mind and body, enabling you to reprocess grief at its root.”

2. Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapy to Restructure Thinking

CBT remains the gold standard for modifying the rumination and avoidance that fuel PGD. Together we will:

• Identify and challenge distorted thoughts (“I cannot live without them”)

• Restore engagement in valued activities with graded exposure

• Develop resilience-building coping strategies

3. Counselling Services to Restore Connection

Whether you seek face-to-face counselling in Newcastle West Limerick or online therapy for prolonged grief, our warm, non-judgemental sessions:

• Validate your pain and honour your unique journey

• Empower you to tell your story and rebuild your identity

• Connect you with peer-support groups to break isolation

4. Functional Medicine Nutrition to Support Healing

Grief wreaks havoc on the body—disturbed sleep, immune dysregulation, fatigue. As a registered nutritionist, I integrate personalised dietary strategies to:

• Stabilise mood through balanced blood sugar and anti-inflammatory nutrients

• Enhance sleep quality with targeted micronutrients (e.g. magnesium, B-vitamins)

• Boost energy and immune function for whole-person recovery¹⁷

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Tailoring Therapy Counselling and Psychotherapy to Adults, Teenagers and Children

Grief takes many faces. A child who loses a parent may express sorrow through regression or behavioural outbursts; an adult may internalise despair or become numb. As a therapist for adults, teenagers and children, our approach is developmentally attuned:

• Children and Adolescents: play-based hypnotherapy, creative hypnotherapy, family systems counselling

• Adults: direct cognitive reframing, hypnotic regression, guided introspection, self healing and gentle recovery with the warmth of memories held

Choosing a specialist therapist for teenagers and children in Limerick Cork and ONLINE therapy or a psychotherapist in Charleville Midleton, Youghal CORK Newcastle West Limerick Adare who is highly experienced and trained in developmental grief ensures that the counselling grief therapy matches the needs of your loved one.

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The Roadmap of Treatment

1. Comprehensive Assessment

   • Clinical interview, standardised grief scales (e.g. YSL, TBQ)¹⁸

   • Functional medicine labs (inflammation markers, micronutrient status)

2. Individualised Treatment Plan

   • Weekly hypnotherapy & counselling sessions (16 weeks typical for CGT)¹⁹

   • Nutritional and lifestyle prescriptions

3. Ongoing Support

   • Access to online group sessions and resources

   • Flexible face-to-face or online therapy options

4. Relapse Prevention

   • Maintenance hypnotherapy boosters

   • Self-guided CBT tools and peer-support networks

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Why Choose My Services?

• Over 20 Years’ Experience: Working with thousands of bereaved clients across Limerick, Adare, Newcastle West, Cork, Dungarven, Midleton Youghal and beyond.

• Holistic Expertise: Combined training in Clinical Medical Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy, Counselling and Functional Medicine and Registered Nutritionist.

• Accredited & Registered: Member of professional bodies for hypnotherapy, counselling and nutrition.

• Flexible Delivery: Face-to-face in Limerick, Newcastle West, Adare, Youghal Cork City and secure online counselling therapy available Ireland, US UK-wide and worldwide remotely online via zoom and other secure online platforms

• Teen and Child-Centred Practice: Specialist in grief support for children and adolescents.

• Compassionate & Warm: You are never alone—our approach is grounded in empathy, care, compassion and respect.

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Book Your Appointment Today with Counselling Experts

If your grief feels intolerable, if you see no light beyond the sorrow, or if a child you love struggles to adapt to loss, expert help is only a click or call away. Whether you need a therapist in Limerick, counselling services in Newcastle West Limerick, a psychotherapist in Cork specialise in prolonged grief, or mental health services in Youghal Midleton CORK and CORK CITY Centre my clinic offers:

• Free 15-minute Call to discuss your needs and how we can help you

• Same-week Appointments face-to-face or online

• Flexible evening appointments

Contact now to reclaim your life from the grips of prolonged grief. Healing is within reach.

Contact Shane Murphy  086 894 7322

Contact Claire Russell  087 616 6638

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References

1. Bonanno, G.A. (2004). Loss, Trauma, and Human Resilience: Have We Underestimated the Human Capacity to Thrive After Extremely Aversive Events? American Psychologist, 59(1), 20–28.

2. Stroebe, M., Schut, H., & Boerner, K. (2017). Cautioning health-care professionals: Bereaved persons are misguided through the stages of grief. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, 74(4), 455–473.

3. Prigerson, H.G., et al. (2009). Prolonged grief disorder: Psychometric validation of criteria proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11. PLoS Medicine, 6(8), e1000121.

4. Kersting, A., & Wagner, B. (2012). Complicated grief after perinatal loss. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 14(2), 187–194.

5. Boelen, P.A., et al. (2003). The role of avoidance processes in emotional distress. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41(11), 1241–1253.

6. Prigerson, H.G., et al. (2021). Prolonged grief disorder: Psychometric validation of criteria. World Psychiatry, 20(1), 27–45.

7. Shear, M.K., et al. (2011). Treatment of complicated grief: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 68(3), 268–278.

8. World Health Organization. (2018). ICD-11: International Classification of Diseases.

9. Murphy, S.A., et al. (2003). Bereaved parents’ outcomes 4 to 9 years later. AESQA.

10. Lobb, E.A., et al. (2010). Predictors of complicated grief: A systematic review of empirical studies. Death Studies, 34(8), 673–698.

11. Li, J., et al. (2014). Bereavement care interventions: A systematic review. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 17(8), 956–964.

12. Shear, M.K. (2015). Complicated grief. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(2), 153–160.

13. Breen, L.J., & O’Connor, M. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder and complicated grief in parents bereaved by the death of a child: A comparison of trauma and grief models. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21(2), 308–321.

14. Mitchell, A.J., et al. (2013). Risk of complicated grief. Crisis, 34(3), 176–187.

15. Nakajima, S., & Prigerson, H.G. (2018). The role of social support in grief resilience. Psychiatry Research, 260, 153–160.

16. Hammond, D.C. (2010). Hypnosis in the treatment of complicated grief. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 52(1), 35–47.

17. Sarris, J., et al. (2015). Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2(3), 271–274.

18. Boelen, P.A., & van den Bout, J. (2010). Psychometric properties of the TBQ. Death Studies, 34(2), 123–147.

19. Shear, M.K., et al. (2005). Complicated grief treatment manual. Columbia University Press.