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Loss and Grief Network

Our network offers staff a space for informal peer support and discussion about managing loss and grief, particularly in the workplace.

Welcome and intentions

This is a new support network that will evolve over time and integrate suggestions from staff for events and resources that can help manage the experiences of grief and loss that everyone is likely to encounter at some point in their life.

In these early stages our intentions for the network are to:

  • offer a space for staff to meet and share their experiences
  • signpost staff to resources to help them understand and cope with grief and loss
  • provide support, guidance and compassion

Grief is a natural response to loss.

Loss can take so many forms, for example someone’s death, losing a job, a relationship, a miscarriage, loss of health, death of a pet, retirement, hopes, dreams, or other things that you value. Grief is the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away.

It is a highly individual experience; there's no right or wrong way to grieve. Often the pain of loss can feel overwhelming, you may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. These are normal reactions to loss, and the more significant the loss, the more intense your grief is likely to be.

Loss is something that binds us together as human beings, and grief is a part of life that all of us will experience when we suffer loss, but you don't have to go through this alone.

If you are experiencing grief or loss and the challenges of balancing this with work and home then this network may be for you. It is a peer support and discussion group as well as a resource bank for its members.

All staff should be assured that this network will offer a safe, welcoming and confidential environment.

Internal support groups and resources

Here is a list of all the internal support available to you as a member of staff.

As an employee at the University of Bath, you can access free and confidential help and advice whenever you need it. Care first is a service that offers access to a team of professional counsellors 24 hours a day, free of charge. You can get in touch by calling 0800 174 319.

On the University of Bath Care first website you'll find information, answers and advice on a range of workplace and personal issues. As well as readily available resources, you can also speak to someone online or on the phone to get the help you need straightaway.

University of Bath Chaplaincy offers support and care, space and prayer in the heart of the Campus. They are located down the steps to the right of the library. The Chaplaincy is both a place and a team of people. They are here for staff and students of all faiths and no faith − to offer counsel, advice or just a listening ear. You can pop in any time. For more information about how the Chaplaincy can support you around your experience of bereavement, visit their webpage.

Staff Wellbeing Champions are volunteers from across the University that can offer a listening ear and signpost to resources and support services.

External support groups and resources

Here is a list of the support and resources available outside the University.

  • Good Grief Trust − search their UK map to find your nearest bereavement support organisation along with other helpful resources and advice

  • Good Grief Festival run by colleagues at the University of Bristol

  • Cruse Bereavement Support is a national charity that offers lots of information for understanding and managing your grief, as well as live chat and phone support every day

  • Grief Chat is a safe space for grieving or bereaved people to be able to share their story, explore their feelings and be supported by a qualified bereavement counsellor online

  • NHS Choices includes bereavement resources

  • Mind charity provides information on the effects of bereavement, where to go for support and suggestions for helping yourself and others through grief

  • Sue Ryder in association with GOOD agency, have launched Grief Kind Classes containing advice from bereavement experts to help people better support each other when they are grieving

  • WAY (Widowed and Young) is a national charity in the UK for people aged 50 or under when their partner died. It's a peer-to-peer support group operating with a network of volunteers who have been bereaved at a young age themselves

  • The Miscarriage Association offers support if you have been affected by miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or molar pregnancy

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please contact us.