Bereavement and grief
Bereavement and Grief Counselling
Grief is not a problem to be solved. It is what love looks like when someone has gone. Counselling gives it somewhere to go, at your pace, in Hove or by video.
In short
Bereavement counselling is a regular, private space to talk about someone who has died and about how life feels without them. With me there are no stages to get through and no timetable: we make room for sadness, anger, guilt, numbness and relief, whichever of them are there, in Hove or by video.
How grief shows up
What grief can look like
Grief rarely arrives as sadness alone. It can feel like exhaustion, a short temper, trouble sleeping, a fog that makes simple tasks hard, or a strange calm that leaves you wondering whether you are grieving at all. It can come in waves months or years later, set off by a song, a date or an empty chair.
Some losses are harder to carry than others: a sudden or traumatic death, a death by suicide, the death of a child, a long illness that left you caring for months, or a relationship that was complicated while the person was alive. Grief like this can get stuck, and talking it through with someone outside your family can help it move again.
Sometimes grief and drinking become tangled, with a drink at night to get to sleep or to switch off. If that is happening, we can look at both together, and alcohol counselling sets out how.
Different kinds of loss
Which kind of support fits your loss?
Grief counselling with me sits alongside free support. Each does a different job.
Someone to talk to this week
The Cruse Bereavement Support helpline is free on 0808 808 1677, open Monday and Wednesday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm and Tuesday 1pm to 8pm. Cruse helpline.
After a death by suicide
Support After Suicide brings together services for people bereaved or affected by suicide. Support After Suicide.
Finding local services
AtaLoss is a UK-wide signposting site for bereavement support near you. AtaLoss.org.
When low mood settles in
In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies for low mood or anxiety after a loss; elsewhere in the UK your GP can refer you. The NHS page on grief lists more help.
Regular one-to-one counselling
Weekly sessions with me, for as long as they help, in Hove or by video. We can start soon after a death or many years later.
When grief and drinking tangle
Using a drink to get through evenings is common after a loss. Alcohol counselling works on both together.
Practical details
Who you'll see, where, and what it costs
Who you'll see
Bradley Riddell, BACP registered member no. 109340 (check the register), and UKCP student member in advanced psychotherapy training.
Regular clinical supervision. About me.
Where
In person at my room in Hove, or by secure video anywhere in the UK. Towns with their own page.
Fees
£80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120. The first 15-minute call is free, with no obligation.
First step
A free 15-minute call. You can tell me as much or as little about the person who died as you want.
Book the free call or ring 07914 681995.
Questions
Bereavement and Grief Counselling: common questions
When is the right time to start bereavement counselling?
Whenever it feels right to you. Some people come within weeks of a death, others months or years later when grief resurfaces or never really settled. There is no wrong time, and starting does not mean you are not coping.
Is there a normal length of time to grieve?
No. Grief has no timetable, and it often changes shape rather than ending. Counselling does not try to hurry it; it gives you somewhere to carry it so that the rest of life has room again.
What if my relationship with the person was difficult?
Grief for someone you had a hard relationship with can be especially confusing, with anger, relief and sadness all at once. Those feelings are welcome in counselling, and we can make sense of them together.
Is there free bereavement support as well?
Yes. The Cruse Bereavement Support helpline is free on 0808 808 1677, and AtaLoss lists local services across the UK. Private counselling with me can run alongside them.
How much does bereavement counselling cost?
£80 for a 60-minute session, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours. The first 15-minute call is free.
Further reading
Guides to read before or between sessions
If you need urgent help right now
Sessions are booked ahead, so for help right now these services answer straight away. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, please call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. For free, confidential support at any hour, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
For free bereavement support, the Cruse Bereavement Support helpline is 0808 808 1677.
Areas I cover
Bereavement counselling: where I see people
I see people in person at one room in Hove, and by secure video. These towns have their own page for this service. For every other town with its own page, the local page sets out the journey, the free NHS and council routes and the questions people there ask.
All areas with travel times · Online counselling across the UK