Bereavement and loss
People to talk to, grief support and places to turn after a loss.
For people aged 16 and over. Each service has its own age limits. Choose what feels relevant and take your time.
Read or save the full booklet (PDF)
Find your way
Finding a starting point
Cafés, groups and connection
After a suicide
Young people and the death of a child
Pregnancy and baby loss
After the death of a partner
Local support in West London
After the loss of a pet
Other circumstances of loss
About this guide
Information and support options only. Inclusion is not a formal recommendation, referral or
endorsement by the NHS or any clinician. This guide is not an NHS publication and does not
replace individual assessment or specialist advice.
This is a selection of routes, not an exhaustive directory. Confirm current eligibility, costs,
waiting times, accessibility and opening hours directly. UK-wide organisations may offer
different services in each nation.
All service links and the contents are clickable. Provider pages are the source for service details; NHS, GOV.UK and council information provide additional context. No commercial reading list is included.
Finding a starting point
For a parent, sibling, grandparent, friend, colleague or anyone important to you. You do not
need to compare your loss with anyone else’s.
Cruse Bereavement Support
Emotional support, grief information and local one-to-one or group support. A useful first
contact when you are unsure where to begin.
How to get help: Free support; contact the helpline or use the local-service finder. Availability varies.
0808 808 1677
Sue Ryder
Online grief information, an online bereavement community and an online counselling route.
You do not need a connection to a Sue Ryder hospice.
How to get help: Counselling has its own age, residence and timing criteria; check the current application page.
Marie Curie
Information and telephone support about dying, bereavement and the practical tasks after a
death. Helpful before a death as well as afterwards.
How to get help: Contact the support service through the website; you do not need to have used Marie Curie nursing.
AtaLoss
A UK-wide directory to help find support by location and circumstances, including more specific
types of bereavement.
How to get help: A support options website, rather than a direct counselling service.
Useful links
Cafés, groups and connection
A gentler way to meet people who understand. You can ask what a group is like before deciding
to attend.
The Good Grief Trust: café map
Find grief and bereavement cafés across the UK by postcode. Informal meetings can offer
company and a chance to talk about your loss.
How to get help: Check the host’s current dates, age limits, accessibility and any costs before travelling.
Sue Ryder Grief Kind Spaces
In-person community sessions offering informal peer support for people who are bereaved.
How to get help: Use the location finder to check whether a Space is available nearby and how to attend.
Death Café
An informal discussion about death and dying for people who want to explore these subjects.
How to get help: This is a discussion group, rather than bereavement counselling or a grief support group. Check whether it feels right for your needs.
deathcafe.com
Useful links
After a suicide
Support for relatives, partners, friends and others affected by a death by suicide or suspected
suicide.
Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP)
A directory of suicide-bereavement services and information to help you find support in your
area.
How to get help: Use the support finder. SASP coordinates and signposts services; it is not a crisis helpline.
supportaftersuicide.org.uk/support
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SoBS)
Support from other people who have experienced suicide loss, including local and virtual
groups, phone and email support.
How to get help: Adult service; check the age requirement for the option you want. For 16–17-year-olds, use the young-person route on page 6.
0300 111 5065
uksobs.com
Facing the Future
Small online groups with the same people each week provided by Samaritans: six free weekly
sessions with trained volunteers.
How to get help: Register online. Check the current age and time-since-loss criteria before applying. This is peer support, not counselling.
Help is at Hand
A free guide covering emotional experiences and practical questions after a possible suicide,
for bereaved people and those supporting them.
How to get help: Published as a public-health resource; access it through SASP.
supportaftersuicide.org.uk/resource/help-is-at-hand-
Useful links
Young people and the death of a
child
Routes for young people aged 16–25, adults supporting them, and families whose baby or child
has died.
Child Bereavement UK / Winston’s Wish
These charities have joined together. The current Child Bereavement UK service supports
grieving people aged 25 or under, and parents whose baby or child has died or is expected to
die before their 26th birthday.
How to get help: Phone, live chat, email and text options; enquire about tailored support. Both familiar names are included here as one route.
0800 02 888 40
The Compassionate Friends
Peer support for bereaved parents and adult siblings, including when an adult child has died.
Resources for grandparents are also available.
How to get help: Explore local and online groups, grief companions, support packs and the helpline through the website. Check event costs.
Useful links
Pregnancy and baby loss
Support can include parents, partners, grandparents, siblings and others affected. Your loss
matters whatever the stage of pregnancy.
Sands: stillbirth and neonatal death
Support for anyone affected by the death of a baby, including a helpline, groups and online
resources.
How to get help: Contact directly. Ask about support in another language if needed.
0808 164 3332
Miscarriage UK (formerly the Miscarriage Association)
Information and emotional support after miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or molar pregnancy,
including resources for partners.
How to get help: Use the current website for support-line, online and group options.
The Lullaby Trust
Bereavement support after the sudden and unexpected death of a baby or young child,
including telephone support and befriending.
How to get help: Contact the bereavement team to discuss which support is suitable.
0808 802 6868
Useful links
After the death of a partner
Support whether you were married or unmarried, with or without children, and whatever your
gender or sexual orientation.
WAY: Widowed and Young
A UK support network for people whose partner died before their 51st birthday. Online
connection and local meet-ups with others who understand younger widowhood.
How to get help: Membership is £30 a year at the review date. Financial assistance may be available. Eligibility relates to your age when your partner died.
WAY Up for people widowed later in life
WAY signposts people widowed at 51 or older to WAY Up, a community for widowed people.
How to get help: Use WAY’s current FAQ for the onward link and check the group’s joining information.
Local support in West London
These are independent services. Check which areas and ages each service covers.
The Mulberry Centre, Isleworth
Bereavement counselling, groups and social or wellbeing activities. Its local bereavement
service supports people living or working in Hounslow after a death from any cause. Its
cancer-support route has no postcode boundary.
How to get help: Free support. Contact the team for a welcome assessment and to confirm age and eligibility for the relevant service.
020 8321 6300 · talk@themulberrycentre.co.uk
themulberrycentre.co.uk
Bereft Bereavement Support, Ealing
Bereavement counselling for people aged 16 or over living in the London Borough of Ealing.
How to get help: Contacting the service yourself by phone or the online assessment form. A contribution may be requested according to what you can afford.
020 8896 2800
bereftbereavementsupport.co.uk/contact-us
Your local hospice or council
Hospices may offer bereavement support, including support after an expected death. Some
accept people whose relative was not cared for by that hospice.
How to get help: Ask which areas and ages they cover, how to contact them, and whether the person who died needed to have used the hospice. Use the council finder below.
Useful links
After the loss of a pet
The loss of an animal can be deeply painful. These routes offer understanding without needing
to justify the importance of your bond.
Blue Cross Pet Loss Support
Emotional support after the death or anticipated loss of a pet or assistance animal, including
loss in other circumstances.
How to get help: Free and confidential phone support, with online contact options on the website.
0800 096 6606
Cats Protection: Paws to Listen
Free, confidential listening support for pet-related grief, plus information about losing a cat and
difficult end-of-life decisions.
How to get help: Trained volunteer listeners; phone or the website support form. This is listening support rather than counselling.
0800 024 9494
The Ralph Site
A not-for-profit pet-loss website with information and an online community for people grieving
an animal.
How to get help: Use the website for resources and current community links. Peer discussion is not a crisis or therapy service.
Animal Samaritans
An animal-welfare charity that also offers a pet-bereavement telephone support route.
How to get help: Check the current bereavement contact details and availability on the charity website.
020 3745 9859
animalsamaritans.org.uk
Useful links
Other circumstances of loss
A specialist service may help with the particular experiences and practical questions around a
death.
Brake: National Road Victim Service
Specialist help for UK residents bereaved or seriously injured in a road crash, including crashes
abroad.
How to get help: Free support; use the contact form, phone or email to ask for help.
0808 8000 401
Victim Support: Homicide Service
Emotional and practical support for people bereaved by murder or manslaughter, with help
navigating the aftermath.
How to get help: The specialist service covers England and Wales; contact Victim Support about access and eligibility.
Adfam: substance-related bereavement information
Information for families affected by alcohol or drug use, including an alcohol-related
bereavement toolkit.
How to get help: Use the family resources page for information and onward support; this is not a guaranteed counselling offer.
adfam.org.uk/for-families