GRIEF AND BEREAVEMENT
Bereavement is something that most people experience during their lives. When someone close to us dies, it is normal to grieve. Grief can be devastating, giving rise to feelings we did not expect. It can affect all aspects of our life at home and work, and our relationships with family and friends. We all react to bereavement in different ways, so it may be helpful to have some information about the effects of bereavement that many experience.
At first you may feel frozen, even oddly calm and able to keep busy. Later, as reality sets in, you may swing to and fro between belief and disbelief. You may experience uncontrollable and unexpected emotions, which in fact are very common reactions following a bereavement.
You may feel many conflicting emotions, including feeling desperate and depressed, feel you are losing control and have no sense of purpose or interest in life. Perhaps you feel guilty about things you did or didn’t do when the person was alive. You may experience overwhelming feelings of anger at anyone or everyone including the person who has died.
Over a period of time, lighter moments will begin to appear. Besides feeling sad, the good moments get better and more frequent. In bereavement, many people find that they already have as much support in their lives as they need from family, friends and neighbours. However, some people may prefer to speak to someone from a professional organisation like Kingston Bereavement Service.
WHAT IS BEREAVEMENT COUNSELLING?
Bereavement counselling can enable you to accept that someone significant in your life has died and to explore the confusion of feelings that you may experience after their death. This takes place in a safe and confidential environment, with a trained counsellor who has the skills and experience to support you through the emotions and adjustments that you inevitably face at such a time.
The experience of bereavement is different for everyone. Some people may want to receive help a few months after the death, while for others it is not until later that they realise they have issues they would like to discuss. Whilst bereavement counselling is an emotional experience, it can be very beneficial.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Everyone is an individual with a unique bereavement experience and we aim to provide the right help, at the right time, in the right way, to meet the individual needs of children and their families. Our specialist service - the Saying Goodbye Project - is designed specifically to support children and young people who are experiencing bereavement.
We do this by providing them with one-to-one and occasional group support, as well as supporting their parents and carers through their own grief and offering information and support strategies for them to manage the grief within their family.
The Saying Goodbye Project is innovative and forward thinking. We actively engage with new developments in the field of childhood grief, ensuring we are at the forefront of any new initiatives in this specialised area of work. At a local level, we have well established relationships with professional organisations in Kingston that are open, honest, collaborative and children and young people centred.