Find a grief support group

If you’re struggling with loss and your grief feels overwhelming, you might want to get help. Grief is a natural response to loss and we can turn to friends and family for help. But sometimes it’s beneficial to talk to someone you don’t know, or perhaps someone that you can relate to. There are lots of grief supports groups up and down the UK where you can share how you’re feeling and start to work through your grief. Remember, you don’t have to put pressure on yourself to feel better. But it’s good to talk about your loss, how it’s affected you and what coping mechanisms could help. 

Grief support groups  

See our list of grief support groups below. From online peer support groups to face to face meetups with people in a similar position to you. We hope you find a group that’s suitable and that helps you talk about your grief. 

Grief support groups you’ll find on social media 

The new normal charity 

The new normal is a charity that aims to bring people together through their grief with peer support groups that regularly take place in person and online for free. They regularly post resources on Instagram and updates about their in-person Good Grief meetings for anyone who’s experienced loss. They also host virtual meetings that cater to specific groups such as Boys Talk (for everyone who identifies as male), Grey Matters (for anyone aged 40 and over) and Queer Good Grief (for people in the LGBTQ+ community).  

Find @tnncharity on Instagram or at https://www.thenewnormalcharity.com/.  

 

Girls Who Grieve 

This is a support network for young women going through bereavement, grief and loss. It’s run by  

@girlswhogrieve_ where members of the community share memories of loved ones they’ve lost. They also have regular meetups in London that are announced via Instagram and offer a safe space for other young women to share their experience of loss.  

Learn more about the community on Instagram @girlswhogrieve_  

 

Grief support groups offered by UK charities 

Cruse Bereavement Support 

Cruse offers free support over the phone and online for anyone who’s struggling to cope with loss. They also offer support for people on a local level. With over 80 branches across the UK, they offer informational sessions to help you understand your grief and one-to-one counselling sessions, as well as peer support groups where you can share your experiences. 

You can find out more about their peer grief support groups at https://www.cruse.org.uk/get-support/local-services/  

 

Widowed and Young 

If you’ve lost a partner at a young age and you’re looking for people you can relate to or speak to about your situation, Widowed and Young can help. They’ve been helping young widows and widowers work through their grief for over 25 years. When you sign up, you gain access to useful resources, a support line offering emotional support and practical financial and legal help, plus a number of opportunities to meet up with people in a similar situation as part of their regular peer to peer grief support groups. 

You can learn more about how they can help you at https://www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/  

 

Death Café  

The aim of the death café is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives”. Started by Jon Underwood in East London in 2017, it’s since grown to reach thousands of people across multiple countries. Each death café event is set up by a volunteer and is an opportunity for people to talk openly about death with no agenda or objective. But there’s usually drinks, food and cake.  

Find a death café near you at https://deathcafe.com/  

 

Sue Ryder 

Sue Ryder is a charity that supports people approaching the end of their life or those dealing with grief. They care for people in their hospices across the UK as well as offering care in the community and online. Their online bereavement community gives you the opportunity to share your experiences when going through a bereavement and find others who are experiencing the same issues. When talking to someone face to face isn’t an option, the online community at Sue Ryder is a safe space for you to share how you’re feeling with others who are going through similar experiences. 

Sign up for the Sue Ryder online bereavement community at https://community.sueryder.org/  

 

The Good Grief Trust 

The Good Grief Trust is a charity run for the bereaved by the bereaved. Its aim is to help those affected by grief to acknowledge how they’re feeling, to talk about grief in a more honest and straightforward way and provide people with ongoing support. To do this, they’ve created a database of resources, videos and regional and national support services where you may also be able to find online and face-to-face peer support groups. 

Find a grief support group near you with their online map and database. 

 

The Loss Foundation 

The Loss Foundation is a UK charity that provides support for people who’ve been affected by a loss due to cancer. They offer events and supports groups to help people at any stage in their loss or grief and aim to help them connect with others in a similar position. Their grief support groups range from themed groups and therapy sessions to their grief buddy service, workshops, and retreats. All with the aim of creating a space where it’s okay to have conversations about death and grief. 

Find out more about how The Loss Foundation helps people with cancer bereavement. 

 

The Compassionate Friends 

The Compassionate Friends is a charity dedicated to helping bereaved parents and families who‘ve lost a child. They provide online resources for bereaved parents and families as well as the opportunity to be a part of their online support groups. They also offer informal events such as walks where you can meet and chat on the route.  

See how else they could help you at https://www.tcf.org.uk/.  

 

AtALoss 

AtALoss is a national signposting website that helps bereaved people find the resources and support they need to feel less isolated. Through their Loss and Hope project, they train members of the church community on a local level how to provide bereavement support. And they also deliver an online grief support group called The Bereavement Journey. It aims to help people work through their grief using resources and group discussions. 

Find out more about their resources and support groups at https://www.ataloss.org/.  

 

Grief support groups for children and their families 

Grief encounter 

Grief encounter is a charity that supports children and their families to cope with loss. They want a “world where no child is left to grieve alone”. Their fundraising events throughout the year go towards offering children and their families support via their GriefTalk counselling sessions, retreats, family days and workshops. Their workshops for children and young people are tailored to their age groups, for example, a children’s session might be a chance for them to make crafts or paint while they share their thoughts and feelings. It’s an unstructured grief support group that allows young people to express themselves freely, or to just listen if that helps too. 

See how the workshops could help you and your family at https://www.griefencounter.org.uk/  

 

Child Bereavement UK 

This is another charity that offers help to grieving children, parents and siblings. They help families to rebuild their lives after the loss of a loved one through their online resources and guidance. They also have a live chat where you can speak to someone about how you’re feeling. They run several grief support groups across the UK and online. Here’s an idea of the grief peer support groups they run on a regular basis: 

• Groups for families – for families with children aged 4-12 where children can explore their feelings through a creative activity 
• Groups for young people – for those aged 11-25 where you can meet for social activities or engage in creative projects 
• Groups for parents – a safe space to talk for bereaved parents and carers 

 

Find out more about their grief support groups across the UK at https://www.childbereavementuk.org/ 

 

Winston’s Wish 

When a young person’s world is turned upside down by grief, this charity aims to help them through it. They also support their parents and any other adults who support the children such as their teachers, carers or healthcare professionals. They do this by offering on demand services, bereavement counselling, their helpline and live chat services as well as regular online peer support groups. Their online grief support groups provide you with information and the opportunity to share your own experiences. And perhaps even strike up a friendship. 

Learn more about their peer support groups at https://www.winstonswish.org/ 

 

Grief support groups for young people 

Let’s talk about loss 

Let’s talk about loss is a safe space that helps people start talking about death and grief. They offer regular meetings for young people aged 18-35 and they’re peer led groups, so it’s a good opportunity to talk to someone who’s in a similar situation. They aim to be in a relaxed setting with no sitting in circles, and talking about the sad stuff unless you want to. They send regular updates about their in-person meet-ups as well as other fundraising events so it’s worth subscribing if you’d like to join one of their groups in the future. 

Find out more about the meetups at https://letstalkaboutloss.org/  

 

The Student Grief Network 

The Student Grief Network is run by students and graduates who’ve experienced loss. They want to help other students going through a similar situation. They raise awareness in universities across the UK by offering staff training resources and courses, and they also offer pop-up events and grief peer support groups. They collaborate with The New Normal to offer online groups and their pop-up events include screenings, music nights and supper clubs. It’s all about creating a relaxed atmosphere where you can get together with people who’ve shared similar experiences so you can talk about it if you’d like. But there’s no pressure, either way. 

Find out more about the help they provide at The Student Grief Network. 

 

The Grief Network 

The Grief Network is a community run by bereaved young people for bereaved young people, specifically in their teens, 20s and 30s. They regularly host meetups and events in London and have launched a podcast to give more space and time to young people who are grieving. It was set up by Rachel Wilson after she lost her mum and felt that there weren’t many informal spaces where young people could meet and share their experiences about grief.  

You can find regular updates about their meetings on Instagram @griefnetwork or listen to The Grief Network podcast. 

 

Grief support groups for people bereaved by suicide 

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) 

The aim of SOBS is to make sure that people who’ve lost someone by suicide don’t feel isolated. They offer practical info as well as local support groups and an online community forum where you can connect with others who have also been affected by suicide loss. Their grief support groups across the UK are run by volunteers who have also experienced bereavement by suicide who will help you feel at ease. You can find your nearest grief support group using their map. Note that all locations are kept private until you sign up.   

See how else they can help at https://uksobs.org/  

 

Facing The Future 

Facing The Future is a project run by Cruse Bereavement Care and Samaritans, offering support for people bereaved by suicide. It offers online support groups via Zoom to people who’ve lost someone to suicide so that they have the specialist support needed to talk about their experience and share with others who’ve been through a similar situation. They’re run by specially trained volunteers who encourage peer-to-peer support in a safe environment. There’s no agenda and no counselling provided – it’s a space where you can share with others or just listen. The groups run over 6 weeks but there are different start days so you can see which works best for you.  

Learn more about what to expect from their support groups at https://www.facingthefuturegroups.org/.  

 

Grief support groups you have to pay for 

Untangle 

A place for you to unravel your grief, Untangle is an app that can help you find support from a therapist or connect with other people who share a similar story with you. It also offers a safe space where you can ask questions and find resources on practical things you need to do after a loved one passes away. 

Find out more at https://untanglegrief.com/ 

 

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