Counselling & Therapeutic Support

Traumatic grief is a form of grief that happens in response to a sudden unexpected loss. Grief is the natural emotional process of healing after a loss that allows the intensity of the pain and sadness to decrease over time as an individual moves forward in their life.

Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event such as the death of a loved one by suicide. Grief is unique and everyone’s needs and their journey through that grief will differ. The support we offer reflects this.

Adult 1-2-1 Counselling & Therapy

1-2-1 counselling can help when an individual has been bereaved by suicide. It can support them as they navigate through the complex grief and often overwhelming feelings and thoughts.

Our experienced and highly qualified counsellors will work in a warm, trusting, and supportive environment to help you deal with the trauma and move forward.

We also provide specific therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), which is a highly effective treatment for trauma together with other therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) and Clinical Hypnotherapy.

Children’s Counselling & Play Therapy

Depending on the age of the child we offer 1-2-1 counselling, and for younger children we offer Play Therapy.

Rather than having to verbally explain how they are feeling, children use play to communicate at their own level and pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened. Our children’s team are highly experienced and work creatively to help children make sense of what’s going on in a way that they can understand.

Group Therapy – Headlight Hubs & Drop-in Hubs

We also offer bereavement groups, our Headlight Hubs, where individuals meet and gain much-needed peer support from others who have been through a similar experience. The groups are held weekly over a six-week period and are facilitated by qualified therapists. We also provide a drop-in hub once a month for those who need it, following completion of the 6-week group hub.

We know that grief from suicide never goes away completely and can be particularly difficult around anniversaries, birthdays, and Christmas etc. The drop-in hubs provide ongoing support for those difficult times, and you can also reach out to us for further support as the years go by, if needed.

For referrals to our services, please contact hello@headlightproject.org or visit our support page for referral forms and support resources.  

Campaigns

Turn Blue Monday Bright – annual awareness campaign

This is a free awareness campaign that takes place on the third Monday in January. We encourage all schools, workplaces, and community organisations to be involved and provide support materials and guidance to everyone taking part.

The third Monday in January has become known as Blue Monday, due to the combination of cold weather, dark nights, and post-Christmas blues, leading to an increase in mental health issues which can lead to suicide. The aim of the day is to give people a reason to smile, and to remind them of the little things they can do to feel better. Within schools it helps to embed the message to children about talking and where to go to if things are troubling them. We hope it gives everyone a reason to smile that day and encourages people to talk.

We provide support materials to schools and workplaces and offer guidance to those taking part. If you want to include an element of fundraising that is entirely at your discretion but not a condition of taking part.

3 DADS WALKING PETITION

We support the campaign to make age-appropriate suicide prevention a compulsory part of the school curriculum and would encourage you to join us is signing and sharing the petition by following the link – https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623390.