Bereavement Counselling provides support for anyone who has experienced loss of a loved one, this includes animals.

Sudden deaths and suicide especially can be traumatic and postvention services are available. Support to help families cope with the psychological effects of trauma immediately, within 48 hours. Help with the ripple effect after a loved one has passed. Specialist training has be done to help in these desperate times.

If you have experienced the death of someone who was very important to you, you might be finding it very difficult to adjust to the immense changes happening in your life right now. Grief can shake everything up - your beliefs, your personality, and even your sense of reality. You maybe feeling very shocked at present so helping you process this can be helpful. It is a scary process dealing with the local authority and for those facing this process to be able to talk through what you are feeling with a trained therapist can be helpful.

Helen has trained in bereavement and working with Cruse Bereavement Support, the local hospice and more recently helped develop the suicide postvention service for Hertfordshire and west Essex which involved working with the Police, the local authority and Public Health England. Helen works within Hertfordshire (not only restricted to Herts) with close connections to those involved in the real time surveillance system and worked with coroners and NHS partners.

Research has shown that early intervention help after a suicide for family, friends and witnesses can help the grieving process and help prevent complex grief later on. Helen trained in Postvention Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide (PABBS) a bereavement from suspected suicide can feel so overwhelming and effects many people in the U.K a number of organisations may need help in the workplace. Please ask for our training on this to prepare your workplace for such events.

Bereavement is the time we spend adjusting to loss. There is no standard time limit and there is no right or wrong way to feel during the bereavement period - everyone must learn to cope in their own way.

Grief, although normal, can manifest in a huge range of unexpected ways. Some people get angry, some people withdraw further into themselves and some people become completely numb. Sometimes, grief can turn into something more serious - like depression.

Bereavement counselling may be able to provide support during these very difficult times. Talking about the loss often allows a person to adjust to their new life with all its changes - good and bad. Keeping things bottled up or denying the sadness could prolong the pain. Any loss has to be acknowledged for us to move forward. Bereavement counselling tries to help clients find a place for their loss so they can carry on with life and eventually find acceptance. (counselling directory)

We have three counsellors trained in this area, Helen is part of the support care team at the centre and has had extensive training in this area.

We are here to help you through what could be the most difficult time in your life, if you have lost a loved one there are stages of grief you will go through, we can walk those stages with you. You are unique and we will treat you in that way. Get in touch if you would like to know how we can help you.

Three of our counsellors specialise in bereavement, Helen specialises in loss including sudden death, suicide, death of a child, a spouse or even a pet! Grief can be complicated and there are normal stages to go through including just to name a few:

• Feeling overwhelmed

• Shock

• Physical ailments

• Denial

• Anger

• Depression

• Anxiety

Have you lost a loved one? a child? miscarriage or loss of a parent, sibling or a pet maybe? If you are experiencing these feelings and would like to talk to us we are here for you. Please email us or call for an appointment. 

Loss of a pet is one loss no one can understand you may think. We are here to listen. We don’t judge, we are there beside you to help you through the journey of bereavement.