Funeral businesses can be a wonderful source of support for bereaved families. In this article we offer some expert advice to help you provide bereavement support to suit the expertise, time and resources that you have available.
Our expert, Catherine Betley is the founder of GriefChat and Head of Charity at MuchLoved. She has 25 years of experience in counselling services and a particular specialism in developing bereavement support.
Four simple steps that will help many bereaved families
Most families that you look after will have low level bereavement care needs; very few will need intensive bereavement counselling. This means that, with a few basics, you can provide valuable support for many bereaved people in your community.
Catherine recommends four simple steps for funeral businesses:
1. From your website, link to an aggregator site which will help people find local, national and specialist organisations. At a Loss and The Good Grief Trust are both reputable and have a good search facility
2. Other useful website content could include podcasts, books and leaflets from experts
3. Check regularly that all the information on your website is up to date
4. If you recommend external counsellors or services, ensure they are appropriately accredited or registered. Individual counsellors and psychotherapists should be on a Professional Standards Agency accredited register, whilst organisations should be members of a reputable professional body
You can also help bereaved families by reassuring them that the grief they are experiencing is normal.
Grief is a universally human experience which has no time limit and it’s normal to experience waves of grief that come and go. Your expertise, care and compassion will be a huge source of support for many of the families that you look after.
Other aftercare or bereavement support services that you could offer
Bereaved people are bombarded with information and admin that needs to be dealt with, so offer support that is simple and reliable. In addition to the basics mentioned above, you might offer:
Access to in-house or external counsellors
Links to helplines run by charities or membership organisations, e.g. SAIF Care
Instant chat support services, e.g. GriefChat
Bereavement centres in your community
Online tributes can also be a good start for many bereaved families
Important considerations for your business
If you are thinking about introducing new services, here are some things to consider for your business and staff:
You’re not expected to be bereavement counsellors – families want your time and the benefit of your expertise
Think about all the families you’ve dealt with over 12 months and what they needed. Focus on simple steps which could help many people, not just the exceptional cases. This is further explained by the Stepped Care Model for bereavement
There may be local charities or organisations that you can support or send people to rather than setting up something yourself
From a business perspective, what is the likely cost and impact on your existing resources
Self-care is really important. Look after yourselves, or you won’t be able to look after other people. Beware of stretching yourselves too far, physically and emotionally
Watch our 45-minute webinar to hear all of Catherine’s recommendations.
About GriefChatMost people don’t need counselling, they just need a bit of reassurance, and it can be helpful to get that from a professional. GriefChat is designed to give quick, easy and anonymous support which people can access on the spot without referrals or waiting times. It is available to MuchLoved Optimum partners and can be offered either via their funeral website or on the MuchLoved website.
At MuchLoved, we’re committed to supporting our partners and we’re looking at how we can help funeral businesses to provide more bereavement support. If you have questions about the MuchLoved service, please contact our Support team. Email support@muchloved.com or call our team on 01494 722818