{"id":24475,"date":"2025-07-01T10:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T09:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/?page_id=24475"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:30:16","slug":"bereavement-and-loss","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/mentalhealthadult\/bereavement-and-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Bereavement and Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The death of someone close is a major event in anyone&#8217;s life and there are no quick ways of adjusting. Bereavement is one of the most painful things we can experience, and grieving can feel overwhelming.&nbsp; It\u2019s normal and common to feel worried, angry, distraught and frightened.&nbsp; Many people expect grief to last weeks or a few months, when it is actually common for feelings to last years.&nbsp; It can help to highlight that grief often takes longer than expected to normalise this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is some useful information for patients on NHS Inform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhsinform.scot\/illnesses-and-conditions\/mental-health\/mental-health-self-help-guides\/bereavement-and-grief-self-help-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bereavement and grief self-help guide | NHS inform<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bereavementservice\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NHS Lothian bereavement<\/a> service offers support and advice, but does not offer individual bereavement counselling. This includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Providing advice and information on practical issues following bereavement, e.g. registering&nbsp;a death, arranging a funeral, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing booklets and other information resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developing bereavement information on the NHS Lothian public website and staff intranet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signposting to sources of further advice and support in the community.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developing policies, procedures and guidelines for bereavement care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Supporting and advising staff in relation to bereavement care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing education within clinical areas and contribute to wider training programmes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Liaising with external agencies (such as registrars, funeral directors and the procurator fiscal) to ensure good communication and effective working relationships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Please note, this service does not offer individual bereavement counselling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people will find support to manage their grief from those that know them best. Some people benefit from a supportive, safe and confidential space with a counsellor to make sense of their thoughts and feelings. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crusescotland.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cruse Bereavement Support<\/a> accept self-referrals for professional support and counselling. Occasionally, someone may experience a prolonged grief response, which can start some time after a loss.&nbsp; Where this presents with co-morbid symptoms of a depressive, anxiety or trauma disorder (such as PTSD) for more than a year, is not improving over time, and impacts on daily functioning, it may be helpful to consider a referral to <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/mentalhealthadult\/mentalhealthpsychologyotherservices\/psychological-therapies-services-pts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NHS psychological therapy services<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>C.M. &amp; L.B. 02-07-25<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs\" data-active-tab=\"0\"><ul class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-links\"><\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Referral Guidelines<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Primary Care Management<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Resources and Links<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/policyonline.nhslothian.scot\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Useful-contacts-following-bereavement.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Useful contacts following bereavement &#8211; Local and national services<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Bereavement following stillbirth or neonatal loss<\/u><\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sands.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.sands.org.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SANDS is a charity which offers information and support and has a confidential free helpline. Other supports include local groups, an online community and bereavement information and resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Marie Curie<\/u><\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mariecurie.org.uk\/help\/hospice-care\/edinburgh#help\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.mariecurie.org.uk\/help\/hospice-care\/edinburgh#help<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marie Curie offers support not only to patients who are terminally ill, but also their families. They offer a bereavement support group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>For more information for local services please see<\/u><\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Edinburgh &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/ithriveedinburgh.org.uk\/services\/bereavement-service-nhs-lothian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/ithriveedinburgh.org.uk\/services\/bereavement-service-nhs-lothian\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>East Lothian &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/eastspace.org.uk\/self-help\/self-help-guides-resources\/bereavement-and-grief\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Eastspace | Bereavement and grief<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Midlothian &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/midspace.co.uk\/self-help\/self-help-guides-resources\/bereavement-and-grief\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/midspace.co.uk\/self-help\/self-help-guides-resources\/bereavement-and-grief\/<\/a> West Lothian &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westlothian.gov.uk\/bereavement-advice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.westlothian.gov.uk\/bereavement-advice<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The death of someone close is a major event in anyone&rsquo;s life and there are no quick ways of adjusting. Bereavement is one of the most painful things we can experience, and grieving can feel overwhelming.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s normal and common to feel worried, angry, distraught and frightened.&nbsp; Many people expect grief to last weeks or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":4125,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1273],"class_list":["post-24475","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-https-apps-nhslothian-scot-refhelp-guidelines-mentalhealthadult-bereavement-and-loss"],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"heatherlevy","author_link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/author\/heatherlevy\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":" <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/category\/mentalhealthadult\/https-apps-nhslothian-scot-refhelp-guidelines-mentalhealthadult-bereavement-and-loss\/\" rel=\"tag\">Bereavement and Loss<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The death of someone close is a major event in anyone&rsquo;s life and there are no quick ways of adjusting. Bereavement is one of the most painful things we can experience, and grieving can feel overwhelming.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s normal and common to feel worried, angry, distraught and frightened.&nbsp; Many people expect grief to last weeks or","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24475"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27700,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24475\/revisions\/27700"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}