Our Suicide Beravement Advisors are all mental health professionals with experience supporting people through grief and loss. Our team come from a diverse range of backgrounds and professions including; counsellors, coaches, and other mental health support roles. The team is here to offer emotional as well as practical support. 

Everyone from our team has a passion for supporting people through grief and loss and have lots of experience working in the world of mental health. While some of our team may have their own experience of loss and of loss to suicide, we are not here to offer peer support, and so we don’t tend to share details of our own experience. This space is for you and your grief.

If you reach out by email or by using our application form, you will first be contacted by someone from our admin team who will connect you with one of our Suicide Bereavement Advisors by scheduling an introductory call at a time that suits you. The first call will be by phone and then you can decide whether you would prefer to continue working by phone or by video call. You can change your mind at any time.

This introductory call is a chance to start talking about how best we can support you on your grief journey. This may look like setting up a support plan for the coming few months, it may look like exploring your current support network, and it may look like finding space to explore any practical questions or concerns that are coming up for you.

If you reach out by phone, you will likely first connect with someone from our admin team. Their aim is to understand a bit more about you and about what you’re looking for in terms of support. They are here to chat through different support options that we have, signpost to other relevant support services, and get you set up with someone from our emotional support team. They can walk through the application form with you over the phone.

Our hope is that this feels like a safe and non-judgemental space. The space is yours to talk about anything related to your grief that feels helpful. There is no pressure to share any details that feel too much or too difficult to talk about. We recognise that suicide loss touches many aspects of our lives, and it can be difficult to know where to start, our Converstion Guide can be a helpful place to start if you are unsure of where to begin.

We encourage you to reach out for support at a time that feels right for you. There is no right or wrong time to access support, everyone's grief journey is different. We can accept an application for our early bereavement support any time during the first 6 months after a loss to suicide. 

At the 6 month mark we can explore other options for support with you. If you are interested in counselling with Suicide&Co, you can read more about this support here.

No, we are only able to offer counselling to people over the age of 18. If you or someone you care for is under 18 and needs support, you can find some helpful links on our Help Hub, or seek help from organisations like Child Bereavement UK or Winston’s Wish. You can also call us on 0800 054 8400 (Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm) and we can help signpost to organisations too.ption

We recognise how difficult it can be to reach out for support, especially in the time immediately after a loss. We really care that people feel they are included in the conversation about what support feels best for them, and so we wouldn't be in a position to receive an application on someone else’s behalf. You can reach out to us by email or by calling our team if you would like to speak about supporting someone after a recent loss to suicide.

Counselling and emotional support can feel quite similar. Both are examples of one to one support with a professional. Our process is that people access counselling only after they have reached the 6th month mark in their bereavement. This is based on our service guidance, and because we recognise just how up-and-down and filled with raw emotions that these first months can be.

Our early bereavement service focuses on support in the present, our Suicide Beravement Advisors are here to walk alongside you as you navigate the complexities of suicide loss. This support can be a chance to explore your support network, seek support in navigating conversations about loss, and begin to understand your grief. Our early bereavement support calls can be scheduled to suit you and last 30 minutes.

Counselling often looks at the past and future, as well as support for the present. It is a chance to begin to process grief on a deeper level. Counselling sessions happen at the same time each week and last 50 minutes.

Our admin team and our Suicide Beravement Advisors are available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. If you do reach out to us outside of our opening hours, please leave a message and we will do our best to call you back as soon as we can. If you are seeking support outside of our opening hours, we also have a list of immediate support services here.

Our email inbox and our text inbox are monitored only during these opening hours. For texts and emails we aim to reply to all messages within 1 working day.

No, we believe that everyone should be able to access help regardless of their means, so our early bereavement support is free to access. If you are in a position where you are able to contribute, we are so grateful to everyone who is able to support us in our mission. We do encourage people who are able to support us with donations or fundraising when and if they feel able to do so, to help us continue to provide support to others.

We are a registered charity and all our funding comes from individual donations, group fundraising and grants

If you need any support with your application please email support@suicideandco.org or call our team on 0800 054 8400 (Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm).