Talking Therapies and Peer Support
It can be hard to know where to start to look for people to talk to who really get it. Here we explore where to find professional support as well as people who have been through loss.
Petals provide and promote specialist counselling for parents across the UK following baby loss.
Talking therapies are available through the NHS. You can speak to your GP or alternatively you can self refer by finding your local IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) service.
The Miscarriage Association have a phone helpline and live chat service. They also have online support forums as well as online and face to face support groups.
Teddy’s Wish provide free specialist bereavement counselling sessions, retreats for parents and care packages.
Tommy’s have a midwife support line (phone and email) that is run by qualified specialist bereavement midwives. They also have a Facebook support group for those who are pregnant after loss.
Sands (The Stillbirth and neonatal death charity) have a support helpline (phone and email), online support forums, local support groups and a bereavement support app. They also provide a befriending service.
The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust have a telephone and email helpline, online forum and online support groups.
Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) have a telephone helpline as well as an online peer support forum.
Child Bereavement have a helpline and run a range of support groups.
Baby Loss Retreat provide free of charge retreats for bereaved families throughout Scotland.
Surviving the Loss of your World provide support groups for bereaved parents and siblings (adults and children).
The Lily Mae Foundation provide a range of support services including 1:1 sessions with a support worker and group support meetings.
The child death helpline provide telephone support to parents who have lost a child of any age, under any circumstances however recently or long ago. They can also offer support to grandparents, siblings and the extended family.
Baby Loss Hour takes place every Tuesday at 8pm on Twitter. With a different theme each week, this is a place to discuss a variety of issues that arise in life after baby loss.
Cruse offer a range of support services including their helpline, online live chat as well as 1:1 and group sessions.
At a Death Cafe people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death.
The objective is ‘to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’
Let’s Talk About Loss run meet ups across the UK. These are a safe space to talk through taboos and address the reality of losing someone close to you when you are young (for 18-35 year olds).
