The Importance of Counselling and Bereavement

We’d like to introduce you to Jane, our Bereavement and Counselling Services Manager. She has been with the Martlets for 6 years and does an incredibly important job – helping families, patients and friends through the process of grief and bereavement.

“We often find people avoid talking about bereavement because they don’t know what to say, they don’t want to make it worse or it hurts too much. This can add to the loneliness and isolation of grief for those who have lost someone close to them.

Some people find it difficult to grieve. Grief, truly, can have a significant and lasting  impact on a bereaved person’s life. Those people who struggle to grieve or push their feelings away may find the loss expressing itself in later years e.g.health and relational issues. Other people who grieve fully for their loved one can find themselves able to have hope and optimism for their future.

It’s not about moving on, or forgetting them, it’s about finding a way to remember that person whilst continuing with your life, without guilt.

The reason bereavement support is so important is that if we are able to find a way to really be with the loss of our loved one, feel the pain of that loss, it gives us the opportunity to value and think about that person and to continue living life in a full way, whilst remembering them.

Everyone grieves differently, what works for one person doesn’t work for everyone, so finding the way that’s right for each person is really important.

We know this from the feedback we receive. One person told me how they were “at the lowest point of their  life and at breaking point but thanks to our sessions together I learnt how to live a day at a time until I was able to look to the future and still hold onto those precious, precious memories.”

 

Our bereavement support team offer support to our patients and their close friends and family throughout their time with us, for as long as they need.

Blog: Our Bereavement Social Evenings

Blog: Our out of hours Bereavement Service