Introducing TCF - For health and social care professionals

One of a series of leaflets published by The Compassionate Friends Suicide prevention and awareness is included in the training that volunteers receive, recognising that bereaved parents, particularly those in early loss, may be vulnerable to suicide ideation. Our volunteers in all roles do not hesitate to signpost individuals to seek advice from the staff team about further professional mental health or crisis support should the need arise. TCF’s work in action “I always leave a meeting feeling better and not so alone. The facilitators are excellent and so very kind and gentle. … It helps to know I have a place I can go where I can cry and express myself and know everyone really understands and doesn’t judge me.” Samira “Thank you for putting my partner in touch with your helpline. He called last night and for the first time in three months there seems to be a teeny tiny light at the end of a very long tunnel. It’s a start and I couldn’t be more thrilled and relieved. Your helpline team member was so easy to talk to and made my partner feel he wasn’t alone in feeling the way he’s feeling right now.” Trish We try our best to deliver targeted support that best suits the bereaved parents who come in contact with us, depending on where they are in their grief journey. Due to capacity issues, our support is primarily for bereaved parents, with some support for adult bereaved siblings and limited services for bereaved grandparents. We run specialised support sessions for parents bereaved in specific circumstances, such as through suicide, illness or substance use, or of children in different age groups, such as parents bereaved of a school age child or an older adult child. We run groups for parents who have lost their only child or all their children, as well as groups for bereaved fathers. We offer occasional support groups for bereaved adult siblings. Research indicates that while some bereaved parents prefer the in-person support of a group meeting, others find that an online support group better meets their needs (Feigelman et al, 2008; Gold et al, 2016). This is one reason why we run both in-person and online events, with the goal of making the support we offer as accessible to as many people as possible. We see peer support as one of various forms of support that may benefit a bereaved parent. There are occasions where an individual’s circumstances or struggles require professional mental health rather than our peer support. In these situations, we signpost as appropriate.