Sometimes people get stuck in grief.  If you are willing to accept help moving on, there is a lovely life waiting for you.

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Question:

My mom passed away nine years ago when I was ten years old.  I feel I have dealt with it, but I don’t think my dad has.

He has quite a stressful job, and comes home shouting at me and my sister for the tiniest things.  This has been getting worse over the past year or so.  I would not say he is abusive – I can see that when he raises his voice something stops him and he actually feels embarrassed without us saying anything. 

He has not dated since my mom passed away, and I think he feels the loss even more when he does not have a partner to talk things through with.  His stress is affecting everyone in the house.

I am also worried about his physical health since he has started drinking quite a lot.  I wouldn’t say he is an alcoholic, but I am worried that it will get worse.

I want to go to university soon, but I can see that he wouldn’t cope without me, and I don’t want my little sister to take over from me and spend her life caring for him.

How do I get my dad to agree to family counselling?  I feel that would have a better chance than me asking him to go for personal counselling – he has his pride