Bereavement Counselling

The Centre continues to offer:

• 1-2-1 Bereavement counselling

• Peer support Group workshops

• Pastoral Befriending/Pre-bereavement counselling

all of which are by appointment only.

Who can make a referral and how

GP/Social Prescriber/IAPT Talking Therapies/other associated Medical Services.

Referees MUST USE the Drop-In Bereavement Centre Referral form, please click here to print/download a Referral Form . Our organisation does not accept self-referrals.

Email all referrals to [email protected]

How many sessions of 1-2-1 Bereavement counselling?
We initially offer 6 sessions with extended sessions dependent on the complexities of bereavement.

Completing a Referral Form

Referrals by a Doctors Surgery must be completed by the GP or Practice Manager/Social Prescriber. Do not give the referral form to clients for completion.

• It is important for the referee to provide their full name, title, organisations’ full postal address and contact number.

• Client’s GP details should also be provided on the referral form.

• Include if client has a history of mental health/addiction/self-harming (if applicable), full contact details of Mental Health Key Worker/Psychologist/Home Treatment Team. If this does not apply to the client, kindly state on the form "No history of mental health known at time of making the referral.

• In line of safeguarding, it is important for our Organisation to work closely with external support services i.e. Mental Health Community Key Worker/Home Treatment Team should a client present being at risk during the counselling sessions.

• Please state if bereavement is Covid related

• In the case of IAPT Therapists completing the referrals to state on the form if the client’s file will be closed from their services once acceptance of client by our Services.

• State which method of counselling the client requires – kindly circle on the referral form. Face to Face or Telephone.

• If known to you, provide the client's email address.

• Always ensure that the client is aware that you are making a referral to our organization and is also aware of the waiting period for a counselling appointment. It is your duty to enquire with our services the waiting list time period.

• Ensure the referral form is emailed not posted whilst we continue to partially operate remotely.

• Incomplete Referral forms will NOT be accepted and will be returned to the referee, which will delay the client’s waiting period for a counselling appointment.

• If you have any queries in relation to the Referral form, please contact us where we will be happy to help you.

Our Eligibility Criteria

We have an open-door policy and accept referrals from across East London.

Clients need to be aged 18+ to 80 yrs.

Charges – Due to recent lack of funding support towards the bereavement counselling service, to help us continue supporting more people, we would be grateful if clients could make a discretionary donation once they have completed their bereavement counselling sessions.

How can a client make a donation towards his/her counselling sessions

• In-house donations for face-to-face.

• Local Giving

• Cheque made out to The Drop In Bereavement Centre

We do offer clients the opportunity to access private paid counselling upon request - please contact the Centre for further details.