Our Services

Group Workshops:

Workplace and Community

Loss, Grief and Bereavement in the Workplace Training

Gain the vital skills you need to support your bereaved colleagues at work

We have identified a gap within the ‘wellbeing in the workplace’ offerings. Mental Health First Aid and Suicide Awareness training is, quite rightly, thriving, but there is very little currently in the marketplace to address and improve the handling of loss, grief and bereavement in the workplace.

In our (almost post) Covid era, it is more pertinent than ever to plug this gap and to equip managers, leaders and colleagues with the skills you need to support bereaved colleagues, whilst maintaining the integrity of your organisation and its core values.

Statistics show one in ten people in the workplace are affected by a bereavement and it has been identified as a major life event that can cause or exacerbate mental health conditions. Yet many people are being failed by a lack of support in the workplace, even when many workplaces are well-meaning. We are not necessarily equipped with the language and awareness that’s needed when a colleague is bereaved. Their productivity and capabilities can be significantly altered upon their return, even in the long-term, and we support you with how to navigate this, which benefits the grieving colleague AND reduces the negative impact this can have on the organisation. It is often too late to address after something has happened – we know it is better to be well-prepared, so you know what to do should a colleague face a bereavement.

Our loss, grief and bereavement in the workplace training workshops are safe, friendly, and informative; they have been researched, planned, developed and created from scratch, based on research, lived experience and scientific facts. They work extremely well as a follow-on from Mental Health First Aid training, as well as Suicide Awareness training. To solidify the learning that takes place on our course, we also provide two beautifully designed and detailed booklets which all participants can take away with them. Not only do these booklets provide an invaluable resource for participants, they also support managers to embrace peer support following the course through sharing their learning with a tangible resource.

We provide training, not therapy or counselling. Instead, our workshops create a space to openly acknowledge, share and explore experiences and language relating to the ‘elephant in the room’: loss, death, and bereavement. We explore how we can support ourselves and others in grief, with a focus on doing so in the workplace. Participants (particularly those who have experienced significant loss) may find some of the content, topics, or activities to be challenging, but we are trauma-informed and prepared for such eventualities. There is no obligation to share personal information or details with the group, but we create space for some opportunities to do so, whilst adhering to the course content and remaining committed to the learning outcomes.

Training Outcomes

• You will be able to describe the impact of grief on the body, mind and behaviour.
• You will be able identify what action needs to be taken to support grievers in your workplace.
• You will be able to modify your language and behaviour in the workplace around grievers.

Course Content

Sessions 1 and 2

• Introduction/Statistics around bereavement and the workplace
• Stress and anxiety reactions and coping strategies
• Responding to change (including Covid-19 context)
• Learning to listen/active listening skills
• Exploring different models of grief
• Exploring grievers and the fear of getting better/letting go of suffering
• ‘The elephant in the room’ and talking about death and grief
• Common messages/misconceptions/platitudes and well-wishers
• Grief’s impact on the body, brain and behaviour
• Exploring resilience and its place within the context of the bereaved
• Acknowledging grief for the bereaved
• Helpful hints and tips, including what to say/what not to say

Sessions 3 and 4

• Recapping learning from Sessions 1 and 2
• Supporting bereaved colleagues and friends
• Exploring experiences of grief in the workplace
• What constitutes significant loss and perceptions of colleagues
• Additional losses and how they affect a grieving colleague
• Grief and identity
• Understanding and respecting anchors
• Practical advice on supporting grieving colleagues:
  • Immediately after a death
  • Before the griever returns to work
  • When the griever is back at work
  • General/Ongoing grief in the workplace
• How to support a griever in crisis at work
• Mental Health First Aid and grounding techniques
• Self care at work and benefits on the brain
• Reviewing own workplace and anything already being done in relation to supporting bereaved colleagues
• Role play (putting into practice some of the things learned during the sessions with a variety of workplace scenarios)
• Looking at next steps and action plan with a supporting structure

Loss, Grief and Bereavement in the Community

Experience a safe space to explore grief and loss. Listen, talk, share, be heard and learn how to help others who are grieving.

When you experience a significant bereavement, it can be a lengthy wait to gain access to a counsellor or to access the support you need, when you need it.

We know there are so many people amongst us in the community who have experienced a profound loss of a loved-one and who have never had an opportunity to be heard. Really heard. We want to create a safe space to acknowledge your loss (whether recent or many years ago), to explore your experiences of grief with friends, family and strangers alike. There are so many secondary losses that follow a death – we aim to give those the time, dignity and attention they deserve. We aim to support you with learning to live around your loss.

We provide a unique space to be heard in our own experiences of loss, grief and bereavement as well as learning how to help others who are grieving. 

Each session is carefully planned so you can begin gently, easing into the workshops in a way that is as safe and comfortable as possible. We explore a range of topics within loss, grief and bereavement and give you the opportunity to share your story, thoughts, or simply just listen to others doing so. We are very relaxed in terms of our expectations of you and we encourage each individual to decide how much they want to contribute – there’s absolutely no pressure to share unless you wish to do so.

We know it can be very challenging to attend any group sessions where topics like this are being discussed, which is why we have gone to great lengths to ensure our content is delivered sensitively, empathetically and compassionately.

We provide you with two beautifully designed booklets, which contain signposted support, as well as activities to complete once the workshops are over. You will also adopt your very own squishy elephant!