Our Counselling Service

One to one counselling for those bereaved by suicide.

 

Conversation is at the centre of everything we do and we want to open up conversations for those bereaved by suicide, with professional counsellors.

 

Navigating suicide bereavement can be hard. Suicide loss is devastating and quite often adds complicated layers to the already difficult grieving process. We want to give you access to a safe space where you can work through this grief with the help of professional counsellors.

Our Service Offering

Our Counselling Service offers up to 12 free to access sessions of bereavement counselling, delivered online via video call or by telephone.

You can apply via the application form. Someone will be in touch within 48 hours to discuss your application.

To read our service FAQs please click here.

If you have been bereaved within the last six months please see ‘When to Apply’ below.

If you need help immediately you can speak to a trained counsellor on our helpline or using the chat box on our website.

Our Eligibility Criteria

  • You must be bereaved by suicide to access our service

  • You must be over the age of 18

  • You must be living in England or Wales

  • You must not be receiving any other professional counselling support at the time as this could be counterproductive

  • We do not accept applications or begin counselling sessions within the first 6 months after your bereavement.

  • Bereavement counselling is most beneficial when you feel ready and have time to talk about your loss for several sessions. This can often be some time afterwards. Whilst you can apply for our service at any stage in your bereavement journey, we do not begin counselling sessions until you have processed the first 6 months of grief following your loss.

    Sometimes, counselling can be helpful earlier on, such as:

    ⁃ If it’s not possible for you to grieve openly, or talk to people in your life about the loss.

    ⁃ If after several weeks, you feel you can’t look after yourself or think of anything but your loss at all.

    ⁃ If there are other difficulties in your life along with grief, like health or money problems.

    ⁃ If you’ve been bereaved by suicide before.

    ⁃ If you’re exposed to suicide or other distressing subjects as part of your work.

    If you have been bereaved within the last six months, the first thing to do is get support from a trained counsellor by calling our helpline on 0800 054 8400, or using the chat box on our website. They can then talk to you about when to apply for further counselling.

    Our help hub also has details of other services which offer immediate support after loss.

 

Our Helpline

We have our own Helpline which you can call at 0800 054 8400 from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.

 

What to Expect:

  • Counselling isn’t accessible to people for lots of reasons;

    - It can be costly.

    - It can be hard to know where to find a counsellor.

    - There are often long waiting lists for free services.

    - Suicide loss can be isolating due to the stigma around suicide, so individuals are often left to navigate complicated grief alone.

    - Counselling and talking to a trained professional about the personal experience of the suicide of a loved one can alleviate future mental health issues.

  • — You should expect to talk openly with your counsellor about your bereavement and the challenges and emotions you are facing. This may feel difficult at first, but over time you will develop a therapeutic relationship with your counsellor and move towards solutions to understand and cope with your grief.

    — Counselling is about much more than just the time when you speak to your counsellor. You may often have ‘homework’ so you can continue to work on your well-being after your sessions.

    — Counselling is a commitment, and it is important to recognise that you can learn many useful tools for processing and dealing with your grief, once you get past the initial hurdles of speaking openly about your feelings. However you must be committed to the process, and perseverance is key.

  • - It can help to block out a small window of time before and after your sessions as a ‘time cushion’ to help you emotionally prepare beforehand and to process and reflect afterwards, before you jump back into your day.

    - Find a quiet place in an environment that you feel safe and comfortable in. Online counselling can be flexible, so you can schedule your sessions for a time that works best for you.

    - Using headphones can also create an extra level of privacy for you if you are worried about the possibility of people overhearing your session when engaging in online or telephone counselling.

    – It’s usual to have a counselling session at the same time each week – try to agree with your counsellor a day and time you’re likely to be able to commit to on a regular basis.

We work closely with Regional Partners to compliment local services. When we know there is an existing service delivery in an area, providing counselling to the same level (providing 12 or more counselling sessions), we will discuss a referral onto this local service first, so that we are not duplicating support in this area.

We have this partnership with Paul’s Place in Merseyside.

  • “Being able to talk to someone professional, outside of the family was so helpful. I could say how I felt without worrying I would upset the person I was talking to. I have learnt ways to cope with how I feel. At the beginning of my counselling I felt I could think about nothing other than the person I had lost, it was totally consuming. But I am now able to live without feeling sad every waking moment of the day and I feel I can cope with my feelings.”

  • “I found my counsellor to be exceptional in understanding my needs and helping me work through my grief.”

  • “ I feel heard and understood. It has been so helpful for me to discuss how I feel without the fear of upsetting anyone. Being able to talk things through has helped me take control of my feelings and this has helped me manage my days better.”

  • “It has given me space to accept the bereavement process and I feel as if I've found myself, even though I had not realised I'd been lost.”

  • "I found my therapist to be absolutely amazing and talking through how I was feeling and trying to make sense of things has been invaluable to me in such a dark time. Thank you so much for doing such a great job in providing support after suicide, when you face such an horrific journey."

  • “Counselling has helped me to realise there is a way forward and a path to take whilst dealing with my grief- some days are harder than others, there is no time limit to grief. Having suffered the loss of my brother it has helped me to look forward and also hold on to the past in a healthier way than I was.”

  • “It has really helped me to see grieving as a natural process and to have the strength to look forward.”

  • “I was able to explore my relationship with the person passed away without holding back. I could say things I'd never said before out loud let alone say to someone I know. I could view the death within the context of my life and of the last couple of years and see how it had compounded other emotions. Having regular sessions to outpour my thoughts gave me a real emotional outlet. My counsellor was a huge help to me and in helping me to process what happened.”