Islington · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Bereavement and grief counselling for Islington
If someone you love has died, whether here in Islington or in a place you once called home, grief counselling offers a weekly hour that is only about them and you. The drive to Hove is around 105 minutes, so from Islington we would meet on secure video, letting you stay at home afterwards, with a visit in person possible now and then.
If you are thinking about ending your life, call 999 or the Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night. More urgent help is on this page.
The practical facts for Islington
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Islington by car
- About 105 minutes with clear roads (55.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free bereavement helpline
- Cruse Bereavement Support helpline, 0808 808 1677
- Fees
- £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90, £120 for 120. The first 15-minute call is free.
- Registration
- BACP registered member, no. 109340 (check the register); UKCP student member in advanced psychotherapy training.
Grieving in a borough where everyone is passing through
Islington's population is young and keeps moving, and that shapes how grief lands here.
If you came to study or work, the person who died may have lived in another city or another country, so the funeral, the house clearing and the relatives all happen somewhere else, and you return to a flat where nobody knew them. Friends here may be kind but new. Other losses are close to home: a parent who spent their last weeks at the Whittington in Archway, a partner who died after decades in the same Holloway street, a neighbour on the estate who was always there. In a borough where hardship and affluence sit side by side, a death can also bring money worries, housing questions and paperwork that arrive before you are ready. And the city keeps going. Upper Street stays busy, match-day crowds fill Holloway, and nobody on the Victoria line can tell that your world has stopped.
Grief counselling at your pace, with room for all of it
We begin with whatever is loudest: the person and who they were to you, the death itself, or the strange ordinariness of life afterwards. Grief has no fixed stages, so nothing here needs to happen in order. You may feel anger, at them, at the hospital or at yourself; guilt over a last visit that never happened because you were in London; relief after a long illness, which can bring guilt of its own. If your relationship with them was difficult, grief can be tangled with old hurt, and that deserves time. A death by suicide can leave questions with no complete answer; Amparo is the specialist service for that loss across this part of north London, and our sessions can run in parallel. When a sudden death leaves images that keep intruding, the Rewind Technique is one gentle option we can consider, only if and when you want it. If evenings have started to revolve around a drink, I can talk about that from my own recovery, and Better Lives is Islington's free route if it has become harder to manage. Whatever shape your grief takes, we work towards carrying it in a way that still leaves space for friends, work and the rest of your life in the borough.
Shapes grief can take in Islington
A death far from London
When a parent dies in another city or country, you may grieve in a borough where nobody knew them, with the family and the rituals happening somewhere else.
Grief across languages and customs
Manor Gardens Centre offers culturally responsive, multilingual wellbeing support, and our sessions can make room for the customs and family expectations that come with a loss.
After a death by suicide
Amparo covers North Central London with specialist help after a suicide, and you can see me by video each week while you are also in touch with them.
When caring has ended
Losing the person you looked after can leave whole days without shape. The Islington Carers Hub, run by Age UK Islington, supports carers, and our sessions can hold what comes after.
Free bereavement support for Islington
Islington has several free bereavement services, and our sessions can run beside any of them. The Islington Bereavement Service at St Joseph's Hospice and the Camden City Islington and Westminster Bereavement Service both provide funded support to residents, and Amparo helps people bereaved by suicide. The Claremont Project includes bereavement in its income-priced psychotherapy, and The Lantern on Islington Park Street is open every day of the year.
- Free bereavement helplineCruse Bereavement Support helpline0808 808 1677Free, from trained volunteers. Open Monday and Wednesday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm, Tuesday 1pm to 8pm.
- Free NHS talking therapyIslington NHS Talking Therapies020 3317 7252Free NHS talking therapy for low mood or anxiety that has settled in after a loss. You can refer yourself, with no GP referral needed.
- If drinking or drug use is part of itBetter Lives (Islington's drug and alcohol service)020 3317 6099Free and confidential.
- Local organisationIslington MindMental health charity.
- Local organisationIslington Carers Hub
- Local organisationAmparo suicide bereavement support, North Central London
- Local organisationCentral London Samaritans
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
If someone at home is hurting, threatening or controlling you, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 2000 247.
If you need urgent help now
If you need help right now, please don't wait for a session.
Locally, the Camden and Islington Crisis Single Point of Access is on 0800 917 3333. Local drop-in crisis support: The Lantern, Islington (check opening times before you go).
What people in Islington ask before starting
Where can I get free bereavement counselling in Islington?
The Islington Bereavement Service, run by St Joseph's Hospice, and the Camden City Islington and Westminster Bereavement Service both provide funded bereavement support in the borough. Cruse also runs a national helpline, shown on this page. If you would like weekly one-to-one sessions sooner, or alongside those services, a free call with me is the first step.
My dad died abroad and I couldn't get to the funeral. Can grief counselling from Islington help with that?
Yes, that kind of loss belongs in grief counselling. Missing a funeral, or grieving in a different country from the rest of the family, can leave you feeling stuck between two places. We can talk about him, about what you missed, and about ways to mark his life here in Islington, if and when that feels right.
Does grief counselling from Islington have to happen in Hove?
Usually it happens on video. Hove is about 105 minutes by car from Islington, and staying in your own home after a session about someone who has died is often kinder. If you share a flat, a parked car or a quiet room with headphones works well. A longer meeting at Intergen House can be planned whenever being in the same room matters.
Someone I love took their own life. Is there specialist support near Islington?
Yes. Amparo offers suicide bereavement support for North Central London. Alongside that, weekly sessions with me can give you room for the questions, anger and guilt that often follow, with no pressure to reach answers. Should you find yourself thinking about ending your own life, please contact one of the urgent help numbers shown here straight away.
How much do sessions cost, and is the first call free?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for 120 minutes, the same in person in Hove or by video. The first 15-minute call is free, with no obligation to book. There is no NHS referral needed to see me privately.
A first quiet conversation about the person you've lost
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.