Bereavement Support and Grief Counselling Organisations
Bereavement support and grief counselling organisations for adults, children and families, with information and contact details
If you are mourning for a loved one who has died, grief counselling can be a very helpful process for adjusting to life after your loss. There are many bereavement support charities in the UK that provide counselling, group therapy, social events and other advice and resources whenever you need it, even if it’s months or years after the death of your loved one.
Telephone numbers not specified as helplines provide advice on the service, but do not necessarily offer bereavement support. You should refer to the organisations websites for details on when helplines are open. If you need to speak to someone at any hour of the day you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 for free, confidential and non-judgemental listening and support on any issue from trained volunteers, including bereavement, that is causing you distress.
Miscarriage, stillbirth or SIDS
Bereavement support for people with learning disabilities
General
Cruse Bereavement Care
National charity that provides bereavement support, grief counselling and other help and resources for anyone in the UK who has lost a loved one. It also provides specialist support for young people after a loved one has died, and families and friends bereaved by suicide or alcohol and drug-related deaths.
Website: www.cruse.org.uk
Helpline: 0808 808 1677
Children
Child Bereavement UK
Child Bereavement UK provides support and advocacy for children after a loved one dies and for families who have lost a child. Support services include face-to-face counselling at regional centres, a helpline and advice on supporting a child who is grieving, including how to tell them that a loved one has died or is going to die.
Website: www.childbereavementuk.org
Helpline: 0800 0288840
Winston’s Wish
Winston's Wish helps children and families after the death of a parent, sibling or carer, including advice advice on how to talk to a child about death, funerals, and grief. It provides specific support for families who have lost someone because of serious illness, suicide or on military service.
Website: www.winstonswish.org
Helpline: 08088 020 021
Scotty’s Little Soldiers
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a charity dedicated to supporting children and young people (0 to 25 years) who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. Assistance covers tri-service and is available to children of both Regular and Reserve Forces, as well as veterans.
Services offered to Scotty’s members include access to child bereavement support, guidance to parents and carers, personal education and learning assistance (including grants), and fun activities such as holiday respite breaks and group events. These are all designed to remind the children and young people supported by Scotty’s that they are not alone.
Website: www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk
Tel: 0800 092 8571
Barnardo’s Child Bereavement Service (Belfast)
Barnardo’s bereavement service supports children and young people in Northern Ireland. It also provides a helpline for bereaved children elsewhere in the UK.
Website: www.www.barnardos.org.uk
Helpline: 028 9066 8333
Grief Encounter
Grief Encounter's mission is to give every child and young person access to the best possible support following the death of someone close. They provide a number of services, including counselling, workshops, courses for schools and universities and professional training modules. They also host a free phoneline: Grieftalk. Grief Encounter’s grieftalk helpline is open 9am-9pm, Monday to Friday. This free service offers support to those who need a confidential space to chat and be heard.
Website: www.griefencounter.org.uk/
Grieftalk Helpline: 0808 802 0111
After the loss of a partner
WAY Widowed and Young
WAY is a UK charity that offers a peer-to-peer support network for anyone who's lost a partner before their 51st birthday – married or not, with or without children, inclusive of sexual orientation, gender, race and religion. WAY offers an extensive range of support services designed to help you navigate your grief and talk to others who understand your pain.
Email: enquiries@widowedandyoung.org.uk
Website: www.widowedandyoung.org.uk
Way Up
An online social network for people in their 50s and 60s whose spouse or partner has died.
Website: www.way-up.co.uk
Tel: N/A
After the loss of a child
The Compassionate Friends
The Compassionate Friends helps parents, siblings and grandparents after the death of a child. Resources include telephone and online grief counselling, regional support groups, social events and advice on coping with grief after the death of a child.
Website: www.tcf.org.uk
UK Helpline: 0345 123 2304
Open 10 am - 4 pm, 7 - 10 pm every day of the year.
Email: helpline@tcf.org.uk
The Child Death Helpline
Helpline for parents, and other family members, who are grieving the death of a child of any age, from birth to adulthood. A telephone interpreting service is available to take calls in any language, but advance notice is required.
Website: www.childdeathhelpline.org.uk
Helpline: 0800 282 986
Daddys with Angels
Social network for men after the death of child, including miscarriage, stillbirth, and adult children. The network provides closed Facebook groups for men, especially fathers, who have lost a child, and a separate one for families.
Website: www.daddyswithangels.org
Miscarriage, stillbirth or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
SANDS: Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity
Bereavement support and grief counselling for anyone, including healthcare professionals, affected by the death of a baby. Resources include a helpline, support groups and online forum, booklets, memory boxes and an app.
Website: www.uk-sands.org
Helpline: 020 7436 5881
Petals
Petals supports parents after the death of a child during pregnancy or birth. Support includes up to 6 hours of free grief counselling.
Website: www.petalscharity.org
The Lullaby Trust
Bereavement support and grief counselling for parents after the sudden and unexpected death of a baby or young child, including specific support for families of children who were more than one year old when they died.
Website: www.lullaby.org.uk
Helpline: 0808 802 6868
The Miscarriage Association
helpline, support groups and advice for anyone affected by miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or molar pregnancy.
Website: www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk
Helpline: 01924 200 799
Suicide
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS)
Helpline, support groups and retreats for people over 18 years of age who have been bereaved by suicide, including specific help for LGBT+ people.
Website: www.uksobs.org
Helpline: 0300 111 5065
Suicide Bereaved Network
Online forum and directory of support groups and grief counsellors for people who have lost a loved one to suicide in the UK.
Website: www.sbnwk.org.uk
Tel: 0300 999 0003
Death by alcohol or drugs
BEAD
Support and grief counselling for people after the death of a loved one from alcohol and drug use provided by Cruse Bereavement Care, including specific advice on working with the police and dealing with social stigma.
Website: www.beadproject.org.uk
Helpline (Cruse Bereavement Care): 0808 808 1677
LGBT+ people
LGBT+ people who have lost a loved one can have additional needs, especially if their own or the family of a partner who has died does not accept their relationship. Several larger organisations, such as Cruse Bereavement Care, Marie Curie, and Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide provide dedicated bereavement support for LGBTQ+ people. There are also several specialist charities and helplines that provide support for all issues that affect the LGBT+ community, including bereavement and grief.
Switchboard: LGBT+
A helpline for LGBT+ that takes calls 10am-10pm on any issue 365 days a year, on any issue, including bereavement and grief.
Website: www.switchboard.lgbt
Helpline: 0300 330 0630
London Friend
An organisation that provides support and counselling for the LGBT community in London, on all issues, including bereavement and grief.
Website: www.londonfriend.org.uk
Tel: 020 7833 1674
LGBT Health and Wellbeing
A charity that supports the LGBT+ community in Scotland on all issues, including bereavement and grief.
Website:www.lgbthealth.org.uk
Helpline: 0300 123 2523
Bereavement support for people with learning difficulties
Unfortunately, at this time there are no dedicated bereavement support groups for people with learning difficulties who have lost a loved one, but advice and resources, including story books, are available. Many organisations that support people with specific conditions, such as autism and Downs’ Syndrome, have produced guides explaining death and grief to them. MacMillan Cancer Support have produced a guide to going to a funeral for people with learning disabilities.
Our guide to supporting a person with a learning disability who is grieving has much more detailed information on these resources.
Other helpful organisations
Brake
A helpline for families and individuals who have lost a loved one in a traffic accident.
Website: www.brake.org.uk/
Helpline: 0808 8000401
Coroners' Court Support Service
An organisation that provides advice, guidance and emotional support to families who are attending a coroner's inquest into the death of their loved one. Volunteers greet bereaved families at the Coroner's Court, show them the facilities and explain the procedures, as well as accompanying them throughout the inquest.
There is also a helpline that families can call for advice before attending an inquest.
Website: www.coronerscourtssupportservice.org.uk/
Helpline: 0300 111 2141
Farming Community Network
A helpline for the farming community, that takes calls between 7am and 11pm 365 days a year, on any issue, including bereavement and grief after the death of a loved one.
Website: fcn.org.uk
Helpline: 03000 111 999
Muslim Bereavement Support Service
Helpline for Muslim women who have lost a loved one, in accordance with Qur’an and Ahadeeth, staffed by female volunteers, and bereavement support is available in multiple languages.
Website: www.mbss.org.uk
Tel: 020 3468 7333
Support After Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM)
Support and counselling for families who have lost a loved one because of murder or manslaughter. Resources include a helpline, bereavement retreats and seminars.
Website: www.samm.org.uk
Helpline: 0845 872 3440
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