Grief – support services

Grief is our response to loss, and everyone will experience loss at some stage in life. The death of a loved one is a particularly difficult experience for many people. Grief support services provide counselling, support and education to bereaved individuals, children and families.

The chance to talk things over with a professional counsellor may help you make sense of your feelings.

What can trigger grief#

The death of a family member, friend or other close person can trigger grief. A number of other experiences can also cause feelings of loss and grief. These might include:

• separation, divorce or relationship breakdown
• the loss of a person who is missing
• loss of possessions through disaster or theft
• children leaving home
• placing your children into someone else’s care
• unemployment, redundancy or retirement
• the death of a pet
• infertility, stillbirth, miscarriage or pregnancy loss

Support is important when you are grieving#

People who are well supported by family and friends are less likely to suffer poor health as a result of bereavement. Even so, some grieving people may also benefit from professional grief support and counselling.

A counsellor can offer you encouragement and support through the grieving process. They will not tell you what to do or how you should feel, but they may suggest ideas and strategies to help you cope. Grief support services aim to help with complicated grief and to prevent physical and mental health problems from developing.

Where support is available#

Support is available in most communities. Community organisations, agencies and groups are often involved in grief support services. These may include:

• hospitals and community health centres
• palliative care agencies
• counsellors
• church and religious organisations
• volunteer and community groups

Many services offer face-to-face counselling and support groups, and telephone or online counselling (often by appointment) may be available to people in more remote areas. Some services also run national helplines that you can call for free.

Specialist grief support services#

There is a range of specialist grief support services available. For example, support is available if you have experienced the death of a child or baby. There are also grief support groups for families of people who have taken their own life, for victims of homicide, and for people affected by road incidents.

Sometimes specialist services are set up in response to a particular traumatic event or disaster, such as a natural disaster.

Children who are grieving#

Children can experience loss and grief from a very young age. Their feelings might be triggered by the death of a parent or close relative, family separation, the death or loss of a pet, or many other situations. Specialist bereavement support programs are available for children as well as adults.

Where to get help#