Bereavement Support

The death of a loved one can leave us with all sorts of conflicting emotions. There is no “right” way to feel, yet what we do feel can be painful and confusing and we’re often desperate to return to some sense of normality.

Grief is rarely simple and the reality is that when someone we love dies, we don’t ever go back to “normal”. Just like when we leave school, or get married, or change jobs; our worlds change and we have to learn a new way of being. This new way of being does eventually become more natural and we find that grief allows us to remember and celebrate the life of the person we love as we journey on.

Why do you offer Bereavement Support?

The time between the death of someone we love and the funeral can be somewhat surreal. For some that time is filled with phone calls, paperwork and planning while for others it is a strange time of waiting. Once the funeral is over some people feel quite alone and overwhelmed at the thought of being expected to just carry on with their lives.

We don’t want anyone to feel like they are on their own.

We believe that grief needs to be acknowledged, and that by talking about how we feel and what we’re thinking, we can begin to understand a new way of being in the world.

At Prodigal part of what we do is to provide a funeral ceremony that reflects your needs and your loved ones wishes and we work with you to help that happen. The support we offer doesn’t stop there though. We‘re committed to journeying with you as you learn to live with grief and find your own way in the world.

What is Bereavement Support?

Bereavement support takes many forms. It might well be that following the loss of someone you love you are actually doing OK, that you have family, friends and neighbours who are looking out for you and you’re already getting the support you need.

It may be that you would simply like to talk to someone outside of your immediate support group, a simple chat can help you to make more sense of where you’re at. So if you wish we can arrange a one-off meeting to see how you are and talk through whatever’s on your mind.

It may be that you would like or need something more than that, and so we offer a free five-week Grief Aware course.

We can also offer a limited number of 1:1 sessions, which follow the content of the course over 5 weekly or bi-weekly meetings.

It could be that we decide together that you need support accessing counselling or other services and resources that we cannot offer and we can signpost you to more appropriate support.

How much does Bereavement Support cost?

There is no charge for an initial 1:1 meet-up if you simply just want to talk through where you’re at and the options available to you.

The group Grief Aware course is free to attend while the 1:1 version of the course, which would equate to five sessions, costs £25 per session. That said, we don’t ever want cost to be a barrier to accessing support so we have a dedicated ‘Grief Aware Fund’ that can be accessed to ensure everyone gets the support they need.

Is there a time limit on accessing support?

Our offer of support has no time limit and if you ever feel you need to talk to someone or would like to join the next course then you can always call or email us.

Do you have to have taken the ceremony for my loved one for me to contact you?

No, you can contact us if you have experienced bereavement of any sort or at any time.