Responding to grief - a new resource

Up to 30,000 people die each year in Ireland and around 300,000 are affected by these deaths.  In other words, death directly affects one in ten of the adult population in Ireland every year. 

On Thursday this week Lost For Words – Words For Loss, a new DVD on the subject, was launched by Miriam O’Callaghan on behalf of the Irish Hospice Foundation.

 “We will all be bereaved at some stage and of course we will also face the bereavement of friends, neighbours, relatives and work colleagues.  We sometimes wonder what we can do when someone near loses someone they love.  But bereavement support is not just for the experts.  What is called ‘informed compassion’ can make a huge difference to someone experiencing loss,” said Miriam O’ Callaghan. 

“This DVD should be seen as an information resource to assist us at the most basic level in dealing with the bereavement of others, whether at work, home or in our neighbourhood.”

The DVD looks at how to respond to questions such as, what to say to someone who is bereaved or, is it better to avoid the subject or to talk to someone bereaved through suicide.  

Another question is what to do if the bereaved person needs more help than you can provide. 

It is particularly suitable for friends, colleagues, relatives, members of the public and the caring professions who want to offer basic support.

People who are bereaved can require different levels of care and support and the DVD explains these.  Its focus is on the first level, required by about 66 per cent of bereaved people. 

It involves the provision of information on grief and practical matters, practical help with chores, workload and social support. 

It also looks at grief in very difficult situations including, terminal illness, suicide, and death of a child, and provides advice on what helps in these situations. 

This new bereavement care training resource was developed in association with Barnardos, the Bereavement Counselling Service, Console, Anam Cara, Living Links and St Francis Hospice.

The DVD is available, at €20, from Irish Hospice Foundation, Tel: 01 6793188 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              01 6793188      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, email: info@hospice-foundation.ie

SIC: CIN/IE