Finding Grief Support Groups in the UK

Grief support groups can play a part in helping you, your family, or somebody you care about in understanding the ‘grief journey’ and adapting to life following a bereavement.

Fortunately, there are a lots of grief support groups throughout the UK and many of them specialise in helping people with different experiences and circumstances.

Coping with the death of someone you love can feel impossible at times and it’s difficult to picture how life will be without them. However, with the right kind of support, it’s possible to live a happy and healthy life and learn to adapt.

And most importantly, you’ll get the chance to talk to other people, so you don’t feel so alone in your loss. Grief support groups can be comforting, and they also enable you to chat to others in a similar situation. Many of our funeral homes host regular groups that offer a safe and informal space to chat over a cuppa with the people in your community. There’s a chance to make new friends and be around others who’ll understand what you’re going through.

Here are some helpful resources to help you find the right grief support group in the UK.

1. Adult grief support groups

Butterflies Bereavement Support is a national group which offers free help and advice when you need it most, while Cruse Bereavement Care is another UK wide organisation which offers help over the phone and activities such as days out and 10k runs for charity.

Putting energy into a cause is a great way to deal with grief as it will allow you the opportunity to help others who may be in a similar situation to the person you loved before they died.

Medical research is critical for finding cures to diseases and joining up with a group of people who’ve also been affected, to raise money for research, can be incredibly rewarding and soothing.

If social groups and being with people you don’t know makes you feel a little anxious, you can receive online help and support with GriefChat from the comfort of your own home. It’s free to use and can be found at www.centralcoop.co.uk/griefchat on weekdays up to 9pm. You can access this through any device connected to the internet and it can help you make sense of your thoughts and feelings.

2. Loss of a child support groups and bereavement help for children

The loss of a child may well be the worst experience a parent will ever have to go through, so it’s critical to find the best support possible.

Family and friends will often be a great source of strength, however, talking to strangers and relying on professionals can really help you when everyone in the family is feeling the same sense of loss and going through their own grief journey.

Care for the Family offers a range of support options, including dealing with the loss of a child as well as Child Bereavement UK.

We’ve partnered with Child Bereavement UK to share some ways you can support someone after the loss of a baby. Take a look here.

If you have children that need help to cope with the death of a sibling, parent or grandparent, these same organisations specialise with that type of support and we know it’s difficult for parents or older relatives to know what to say and how to say it to someone who’s too young to understand death, grief and brand-new feelings.

3. Grief Support for sudden or traumatic bereavement

Dealing with an unexpected death can be one of the hardest things to manage, particularly when there’s not been any kind of illness or the person who died had not yet lived through many of the key moments that many of us experience as we go through life.

Road accidents can be the cause of sudden loss and there are specialist groups such as Road Peace to help you cope with this immediate, lifechanging experience.

Other grief support groups

The NHS offers a wide variety of other support groups which you can find by clicking here.

To check if your local Central Co-op funeral home is hosting a grief support group, you’ll find our funeral home finder page here.