[Closed] Therapeutic Counselling.

For the bereavement Cruse are brilliant, they have branches nationwide but there may be a waiting list as they are very much in demand.

Sorry to hear a friend is suffering.

I don't know a specific Surrey-based professional but you'll be able to find one here https://www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists

I've used the directory, personally and recommended to others, before and it's always been beneficial.

All the best.

Cheers. I'll pass it on.

Finding the right therapist for you is such a personal thing that I'd just suggest googling for therapists in his area who deal with bereavement and trying them and see how he feels after an initial appointment.  Would expect anyone decent to offer 1 session free so you can work out if you're going to get on with that therapist and for them to work out if they believe they can help your friend - if not they may have recommendations of a therapist who could help.

Thanks, but he's not so far gone that he can't do his own googling...

He just needed the direction and he's starting with that BACP link, at my suggestion.  🙂

Having been in a very similar situation last year (for the first time) I desperately tried to get some help from anyone, doctors, Samaritans, counselling etc. I couldn’t get hold of half of them. The doc told me to come back in a few weeks and the counselling woman was really nice but just said “yea I can understand why you want to top yourself” By the time I actually managed to speak to someone who was qualified id had a heart to hard with a fellow biker and that sorted me out a treat over a pint of punk ipa.

So take your mate to the pub and let him have a cry on your shoulder. It might help. It worked wonders for me.

Well Mrs uponthedowns would have been ideal for you as she's a BACP registered counsellor with a lot of experience in bereavement but unfortunately we're in Cheshire.

I'd suggest your friend visits BACP.co.uk and does a search there or tries the Counselling Directory. Make sure they go with a BACP registered or accredited counsellor.

If the counsellor is decent they will probably offer a reduced fee for the first session as that's mainly working out with the client whether counselling is appropriate for them, for them to find out what's involved and if they like the counsellor.

Counselling is available through the NHS but its a long long long wait.

Sorry Woppit

That didn't quite come across as intended.  Ignore the googling comment.  It's more about finding a therapist you click with (I've had ones that I didn't click with so were no therapeutic use and ones I have clicked with which have helped a great deal)

Get him to contact these people:

http://www.mindmattersnhs.co.uk/

The Good Grief Trust are a superb source of information & help for those who are grieving, they've a very useful map which shows resources local to your location:

http://www.thegoodgrieftrust.org

Surrey's quite a big place but the MIND centre in Woking (CornerHouse) runs some good depression support sessions.  Also Connect counselling in Camberley is a charity so if budget is an issue they will provide support without the bill.  They're a church based group but don't force the issue for people who don't share those beliefs.

So take your mate to the pub and let him have a cry on your shoulder.

Bit difficult as I live in Spain.

They’re a church based group but don’t force the issue

Not a bad thing per se. I once did a couple of interactive courses at

https://www.grubbinstitute.org.uk

and found it quite useful.

However, as I said, he's first-footing at BACP so he's up and running.

And BTW, as far as the value of the "pub and shoulder" approach. .. useful if someone's had a bad day but we're dealing with a deeper issue requiring invasive surgery,  rather than an elastoplast and a hug.

But thanks for all the responses nevertheless.