what types of therapy help to comfort someone

[warmblanket]

ones that they can use independently to be self-soothing?

[island_fever]

I would think that reminding the person that they are not alone might help.  Also, reminding the person that the only thing that is constant is change can be helpful.  The passage of time helps to ease some kinds of discomfort.  When my father died, it was on a Thanksgiving and it was his birthday.  The turkey was in the oven, his birthday cake was in the kitchen, his birthday gifts were wrapped and he was watching football on tv.  He had a heart attack and was dead before he reached the hospital.  It was horrible.   We came home to the Thanksgiving/birthday celebration with nothing to celebrate.  The food went uneaten and the gifts unwrapped. Instead, we were grief stricken.

"Discomfort" is mild to what I was feeling.  But, kinowing that I was not completely alone and the passage of time, helped tremendously.  At the time, I didn't want to live anymore.  I wasn't suicidal; just disinterested in life.  Time and the love of others got me through it. 

I also think that talking to the the person and explaining that painful experiences are universal and a part of the human experience is a good thing.  Anyone who has lived has had to experience pain in life.  It is the universal equalizer.  Social status, income, race, religion, gender, - none of those things will allow one to escape the experience of pain.  The experience of suffering is a part of being human.  No one can escape it and we are not alone in it.  Acknowledge the pain and live through it.  I found writing through the tears to be helpful.