Dealing with loss and grief

Qualified in social work, counselling and supervision I have spent most of my career working with, researching or writing about loss, death and bereavement.

When I first qualified as a social worker and worked with children, especially through fostering and adoption, I realised that loss was something that accompanied every area of life. Even when the situation appeared joyful or longed for. None more so than when working in various hospices in England and Wales and supporting people facing the ultimate loss – the loss of their own lives. Following that I was then continuing to provide care for their loved ones, after their death, and witnessing the very different approaches to dealing with bereavement.

More recently, and through the pandemic, I have worked on a project with my local hospice on supporting teachers and other school staff to support the children they teach. Helping them to manage their losses and bereavements while also managing their own feelings of uncertainty and loss. Alongside this I wrote a chapter for Social Work and Covid 19 where I talk about the support that we all need when dealing with loss and bereavement especially through the provision of supervision.