Bereavement support

What is bereavement?

Bereavement is a type of grief experienced when we lose someone important to us. It is characterised by grief, which is the process and the range of emotions we go through as we gradually adjust to loss.

Most people will experience loss at some point in their lives, whether that be a partner, family member, friend or pet. It is natural to go through a range of physical and emotional processes as we gradually come to terms with the loss.

Bereavement affects everyone in different ways, and it’s possible to experience any range of emotions. There is no right or wrong way to feel.

How long does grief last?

There is no time limit on grief and it varies for each person. It can depend on the type and strength of the relationship, how someone died, and whether death was expected or sudden.

Looking for bereavement support?

On this page you can find information about organisations in your local area that can support you during your time of bereavement.  There are also links to organisations that work across the whole of England, and a section with faith based organisations.

You will find a short description of each organisation and the type of services on offer.  These include information and signposting, one to one and group support, specialist counselling and mental health services.

There is also contact information and a link to each organisation’s website to help you find the most appropriate bereavement support for your own experience of loss.

Bereavement services are listed in the tabs below:

Croydon (tap to expand)

APCMH (The Croydon Association for Pastoral Care in Mental Health) is a longstanding mental health charity in Croydon operating an open access (there is no referral service) providing emotional and spiritual support

The Listening Ear at Woodside Bereavement Service provides one to one and group bereavement support sessions to Croydon residents affected by loss, via volunteers who have trained as bereavement counsellors. For families grieving the loss of a loved one through suicide, they accept referrals from residents outside the Croydon area.

Croydon Drop In established in 1978 to support young people and families by offering free and confidential counselling, information, advice and advocacy services.

Croydon Health Services Bereavement Service offers support to the relatives and friends of those who die in Croydon University Hospital. They offer an opportunity to work through some of the painful emotions and difficulties following the death of a loved one.

Momentum Echoes is a dedicated service offering support to Bereaved Families when their child dies of Cancer, a life limiting condition or in sudden death.

Off the Record is an award-winning young people’s mental health charity, offering a range of support services for children and young people. Croydon services include face-to-face and online counselling, therapeutic support for young refugees & asylum seekers, young carers services and BAME mental health outreach work.

SLOW (Surviving the Loss of Your World) provides community self-help groups providing support to bereaved parents and siblings in rebuilding their lives after the death of a child. Offering support groups in Islington, North London and Streatham, South London and open to all that have suffered the devastating loss of a child.

St Christopher’s Candle Child Bereavement Service offers specific counselling support for children who are bereaved. They also provide help and support for parents and carers to support their children.

Cruse offer support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies. They offer information and advice, a live chat line, helpline, individual and group support.

South London and Maudsley (SLaM) (IAPT) offer a range of psychological therapies to adults 18 years and over including workshops, groups, and guided self-help.
High intensity therapies usually involve weekly one-to-one sessions with a therapist who specialises in a particular form of therapy, e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT).

St. Christopher’s Hospice provides adult bereavement support for anyone whose relative or friend was cared for by St. Christopher’s before they died or referred to them by the London Borough of Bromley. They run bereavement groups for those in South East London, as well as one-to-one bereavement support and a bereavement helpline.

The Rowland Brothers Foundation charity serve the community of Croydon by providing professional bereavement aftercare that is free of charge.​ They also offer pastoral support, listening ear, counselling, support groups.

Kingston (tap to expand)

Momentum Echoes is a dedicated service offering support to Bereaved Families when their child dies of Cancer, a life limiting condition or in sudden death.

Princess Alice Hospice provides adult bereavement support for bereaved people whose loved ones were cared for by Princess Alice Hospice before they died.  They offer one-to-one support as well as bereavement support groups, walk and talks and family sessions.  Princess Alice Hospice shares a monthly remembrance service online which is open to all.

SLOW (Surviving the Loss of your World) provides community self-help groups providing support to bereaved parents and siblings in rebuilding their lives after the death of a child. Offering support groups in Islington, North London and Streatham, South London and open to all that have suffered the devastating loss of a child.

The Carers Network’s vision is that every unpaid carer is recognised and leads a healthy, fulfilling life with control over their caring role.

The Saying Goodbye Project is part of Kingston Bereavement Service supporting children and young people who have been bereaved of someone significant to them, and who live or study in the borough of Kingston upon Thames.

Kingston Bereavement Service delivers bereavement counselling for all who live in Kingston upon Thames. They offer both one to one and group counselling – counselling is free with a referral from a Kingston GP, and if not they ask for a contribution to the cost of counselling. Kingston Bereavement Service runs the Saying Goodbye Project for children and young people who have been bereaved.

Kingston iCope (IAPT) offer a range of psychological therapies to adults 18 years and over including workshops, groups, and guided self-help.
High intensity therapies usually involve weekly one-to-one sessions with a therapist who specialises in a particular form of therapy, e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT).

Connected Kingston is a site dedicated to helping Kingston residents find local activities and navigate local services. There is a dedicated page that provides information, resources and links to local and national organisations for people who suffered a bereavement.

Merton (tap to expand)

The Surrey Suicide Bereavement Service provides practical support & advice for families bereaved by suicide. The service helps families who are dealing with the loss of their loved one, provide support and advocacy, and if needed can help them access individual or family counselling.

Carers Support Merton is an independent charity to support unpaid carers from the age of 5 in Merton to stay well and live a fulfilling life. They offer a range of Life After Caring services including group coaching sessions and support to rebuild life.

Merton Uplift is a free service for those in Merton experiencing difficulties. Their services include bereavement counselling.

Momentum Echoes is a dedicated service offering support to Bereaved Families when their child dies of Cancer, a life limiting condition or in sudden death.

Off the Record is an award-winning young people’s mental health charity offering include face-to-face and online counselling, therapeutic support for young refugees & asylum seekers, young carers services and BAME mental health outreach work.

Raynes Park bereavement Service offers free one to one bereavement support for adults provided by trained volunteers for residents of Raynes Park and West Wimbledon. They meet people in one of the local GP practices. People can self-refer.

SLOW (Surviving the Loss of your World) provides community self-help groups providing support to bereaved parents and siblings in rebuilding their lives after the death of a child. Offering support groups in Islington, North London and Streatham, South London and open to all that have suffered the devastating loss of a child.

St Raphael’s Hospice Bereavement Team offers support by telephone, face-to-face counselling sessions, practical help and advice as well as a Bereavement Support Group.
They offer specialist bereavement care for children, providing guidance and information about how best to explain death and grief.

Wimbledon Guild Grief Support’s Talking Therapies provides one to one support by trained grief professionals, a therapist facilitated bereavement peer support for adults 18+, a weekly peer group, weekly group or individual, therapy for those who may benefit from longer-term, psychological support.

Wandsworth Bereavement Service provides one to one bereavement counselling. People referred by their GP will receive free counselling, and self-referrals will be provided with low cost support. There is also a service available for children and young people.

Richmond (tap to expand)

Momentum Echoes is a dedicated service offering support to Bereaved Families when their child dies of cancer, a life limiting condition or in sudden death.

Off the Record is an award-winning young people’s mental health charity offering include face-to-face and online counselling, therapeutic support for young refugees & asylum seekers, young carers services and BAME mental health outreach work.

Princess Alice Hospice provides adult bereavement support for bereaved people whose loved ones were cared for by Princess Alice Hospice before they died.  They offer one-to-one support as well as bereavement support groups, walk and talks and family sessions.  Princess Alice Hospice shares a monthly remembrance service online which is open to all.

The Mulberry Centre offers information and support in a non-clinical environment for anybody affected by cancer including carers and people who have been bereaved.  Services include counselling and a range of complementary therapies.

Cruse Bereavement Care Richmond is for anyone wanting information or support for bereavement.  They have a 24 hour answer phone and will get back to people usually within working hours same day they call. Once registered sessions can be carried out by volunteers daytime, evenings and occasionally at weekends.

NHS Richmond Wellbeing Service (RWS) Provides access to talking therapies interventions for core mental condition such as depression, anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, OCD, PTSD etc. Self-referral is encouraged via RWS website, GP referrals or from other health or social care professionals.

Sutton (tap to expand)

The Surrey Suicide Bereavement Service provides practical support & advice for families bereaved by suicide. The service helps families who are dealing with the loss of their loved one, provide support and advocacy, and if needed can help them access individual or family counselling.

Momentum Echoes is a dedicated service offering support to bereaved families when their child dies of cancer, a life limiting condition or in sudden death.

Sutton Carers Centre provide ‘Moving-on’ Group for former Carers, free counselling, emotional support sessions post-bereavement for people known to the Palliative Care Coordination Hub.

Cruse offer support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies. They offer information and advice, a live chat line, helpline, individual and group support.

Sutton Counselling are a voluntary counselling agency providing both long term (up to two years) and brief focussed (12 or 24 sessions) psychodynamic counselling to individuals, as well as long term group therapy in our slow-open group.

Jigsaw4U Pre and Post Bereavement Support aims to support all children, young people, and families who are affected by cancer, life-limiting illness or bereavement. The model of support is child centred. Supports children and young people aged 3-25.

Off the Record is an award-winning young people’s mental health charity offering include face-to-face and online counselling, therapeutic support for young refugees & asylum seekers, young carers services and BAME mental health outreach work.

SLOW (Surviving the Loss of your World) provides community self-help groups providing support to bereaved parents and siblings in rebuilding their lives after the death of a child. Offering support groups in Islington, North London and Streatham, South London and open to all that have suffered the devastating loss of a child.

St Raphael’s Hospice Bereavement Team offers support by telephone, face-to-face counselling sessions, practical help and advice as well as a Bereavement Support Group.
They offer specialist bereavement care for children, providing guidance and information about how best to explain death and grief.

Sutton Uplift offers 8 sessions of bereavement counselling, aiming to help people cope with their grief. People can self-refer

The Bereavement Journey is run in 6 sessions and small facilitated discussion groups, using film and discussion to help guide people through the most common aspects of grief. Although often run by churches, it is for people of any faith or no faith.

The Bereavement Journey Website

Wandsworth (tap to expand)

Royal Trinity Hospice offer one-to-one sessions and group support. They offer both pre-bereavement and bereavement support for children and families. They also run Kaleidoscope, a support group for bereaved children aged 8-12.

Momentum Echoes is a dedicated service offering support to Bereaved Families when their child dies of Cancer, a life limiting condition or in sudden death.

SLOW (Surviving the Loss of your World) provides community self-help groups providing support to bereaved parents and siblings in rebuilding their lives after the death of a child. Offering support groups in Islington, North London and Streatham, South London and open to all that have suffered the devastating loss of a child.

Talk Wandsworth is part of the Department of Health’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) initiative. The service is provided by South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

Wandsworth Bereavement Service provides one to one bereavement counselling. People referred by their GP will receive free counselling, and self-referrals will be provided with low cost support.

Faith-based Services (tap to expand)

Faiths Together in Croydon serves as an inter-faith network representing the diverse faiths of Croydon. The Network acts as a platform to raise the needs of faith communities to policy makers and other agencies (statutory and voluntary) to improve engagement and awareness. Through this, the Network works collectively and proactively to highlight common agendas and seek broad support and awareness through topic led public events as a basis to campaign for positive change.

Kingston Inter Faith Forum comprises representatives of all those religious faith groups/communities in Kingston who wish to participate, together with other appropriate local organisations.  They serve as a channel of communication and understanding between the various faith groups, providing an opportunity for discussion of issues of mutual interest and/or concern.

Eternal Gardens, London, provides a full burial service including counselling/bereavement support. An Islamic counsellor can help you talk and explore your feelings, provide an Islamic perspective on death and how to cope with loss.

The bereavement service is based in Tooting but sessions can be arranged via skype or phone.

Association of Christian Counsellors offers a Christian counselling service and also a free service for NHS workers that is non-faith specific. This includes up to eight sessions of counselling on a no-fee basis from qualified counsellors, either by video link or by telephone

This is an inclusive service, open to people of all religions, cultures, ethnicities, sexualities, gender and gender expressions, age, disabilities, etc.

Bible Society are a Christian charity on a mission to offer the Bible to the world. They have a signposting page for bereavement support for Christians.

Care for the Family are a UK-wide or regionally-based bereavement support organisation with a Christian ethos providing signposting services and supporting information for bereaved families.

The Muslim Bereavement Support Service is a registered charity, serving the Muslim community by supporting bereaved mothers who have lost a child at any stage. Their confidential service is provided by trained volunteers. They offer face-to-face and telephone support in multiple languages and supporting literature.

Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service offers access to professional counselling services for the Jewish community on a donation payment basis via face to face or remote media.

Inter Faith Network provides information and advice to a wide range of organisations and individuals. The IFN website contains information about inter faith relations in the UK in a wide range of contexts and has a wealth of information for those seeking to set up a local inter faith group. The website also lists all of IFN’s member bodies and provides a means of contacting them.

Sutton Community Works started is an active Christian Community, linking local churches, the local community and key decision makers to serve the community. School and street pastors can offer support including bereavement support.

Jehovah Witness Information run a Patient Support Group.

  • Nigel Brooks 07906 478 648 | nigel_brooks@talk21.com

National Services (tap to expand)

Age UK provides online advice and support on coping with bereavement and links to helpful support organisations.

At a Loss is an online signposting service providing advice and guidance on bereavement with links to resources, local and national services, and with a live online chat option via Grief Chat to talk with a trained counsellor.

Bamestream offers a free bereavement support service offering therapeutic support in over 20 different languages. Bamestream is committed to providing Covid-19 bereavement support to people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

Bereavement Advice Centre supports and advises people on what they need to do after a death. They provide online resources, advice and links to bereavement support organisations.

Child Bereavement UK helps children, parents and families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. They support children and young people up to the age of 25 who are facing bereavement, and anyone affected by the death of a child of any age.

Child Death Helpline is national charity supporting bereaved families after death of child.

Cruse offer support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies. They offer information and advice, a live chat line, helpline, individual and group support.

Disaster Action is a leaflet series for survivors and bereaved for those similarly affected by all forms of disaster.

Grief Encounter provides specialist and professional bereavement support for bereaved children and young people including one-to-one counselling, group workshops, music, art and drama therapy, residentials and family fun days, and a web chat service.

Griefchat aims to transform access to bereavement care in response to the long waiting times experienced by many bereaved people. The GriefChat service allows someone to talk instantly with a qualified and professional bereavement counsellor Monday to Friday.

Kooth is a safe, anonymous online support for young people.

Lasting post offers people free independent advice following the death of a loved one.

London friend is national charity offering counselling for the lesbian and gay community.

Macmillan Cancer Support provide an online community for group forums where those suffering a bereavement as a result of cancer can connect. There is a forum for bereaved spouses and partners, and a forum for bereaved family and friends.

Maggie’s Barts provides cancer support Including bereavement.

Maggie’s West London provides cancer support Including bereavement.

Marie Curie helps with practical information and support on all aspects of life with terminal illness, dying and bereavement. Marie Curie Companions can provide bereavement support for people who are over the age of 18.

Meningitis Now provide bereavement support for those who have lost someone suddenly from meningitis. Support includes a helpline, community support officers and online forums.

Murdered abroad is a support group for families, partners and friends of the victims of murder and manslaughter abroad.

Nova Foundation’s mission is to ensure that all families that experience baby loss and pregnancy loss have the resources they need to survive the intense first year of grief, whilst feeling comforted and less anxious about the future and in any subsequent pregnancies.

Options is a Christian organisation for women who have suffered a miscarriage, offering bereavement counselling through step by step, a 10-week programme.

Samaritans is a unique charity dedicated to reducing feelings of isolation and disconnection that can lead to suicide.

Sands exists to reduce the number of babies dying and to ensure that anyone affected by the death of a baby receives the best possible care and support.

Sue Ryder offers access to an online bereavement community where people can share feelings and stories and support each other, an online short course of one to one counselling using video chat, and bereavement resources and information.

Support after suicide is a national support group giving advice for families/friends after death by suicide.

Settld aims to remove the stress involved in closing, transferring or freezing the accounts of someone who has died. They notify all companies in one go, meaning someone only needs to say it once. This service is free for members of the public.

The Good Grief Trust exists to help all those affected by grief in the UK. They aim to find the bereaved, acknowledge their grief and provide reassurance, a virtual hand of friendship and ongoing support. They hold a bereavement services map to facilitate local access to services.

The Loss Project connects people in local communities through the experience of grief, loss and trauma. Loss can be an isolating experience, challenging resilience and wellbeing with little opportunities for communities to grow their confidence and abilities to tackle these issues for themselves.

The Lullaby Trust is support for those bereaved by sudden infant death.

The MIX provides online bereavement support and advice for people 25 and under who have lost someone close to them.

The money advice service provides online financial advice and information following the death of someone close.

The National Bereavement Partnership provides a support helpline, counselling referral and befriending service for all those suffering from bereavement, grief, living loss, mental health issues, and those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Silver Line is a National charity help line for loneliness in elderly.

Tommy’s provide support for families and parents following a baby loss.

Victim Support is a National charity helping those bereaved following crime.

War Widows provide support for those widowed through conflict.

WAY – Widowed and Young WAY is a membership organisation that offers a unique peer-to-peer support network to anyone who’s been widowed at a young age.

Winston’s Wish provides emotional and practical bereavement support to children, young people and those who care for them. They offer one off and ongoing bereavement support and provide online resources including online chat, crisis chat, and drop-in services.

The Compassionate Friends (TCF) is a charitable organisation of bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents dedicated to the support and care of other similarly bereaved family members who have suffered the death of a child or children of any age and from any cause.

Hope Again is the youth website of cruse bereavement care. It is a safe place where young people can learn from other young people, how to cope with grief, and feel less alone. This service provides online links and support.

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide are a self-help organisation and aim to provide a safe, confidential environment in which bereaved people can share their experiences and feelings They provide online resources, a helpline, email support and local support groups for adults.

Mencap provide an online resource page to help people explain death and loss to someone with a learning disability. There are a series of PDF guides have been created by the HSC Bereavement Network, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, NHS Wales and Change. They also host a link to Grief Chat and have an online community and helpline.

Sudden is a charity service providing help for suddenly-bereaved people, due to COVID-19, or any other illness, sudden event, or suicide. They provide a named case worker for up to ten weeks, helping with emotional support and practical issues, and finding extra support in the community.