When people attend one of our grief support groups, they’re usually looking for one thing.
Support.
A place to talk openly about their grief.
A place to feel understood.
A place where they don’t have to explain why they still miss someone, months or years after a loss.
What they’re usually not looking for is leadership training.
And yet, sometimes grief support has a ripple effect that reaches much further than anyone expects.
This is the story of one former Participant who, after experiencing the value of peer support firsthand, went on to create a grief support group within their own workplace.
Finding support after loss
Grief can be incredibly isolating. Even when surrounded by caring friends, family, and colleagues, many bereaved people tell us they struggle to find others who truly understand what they are going through.
That’s where grief support groups can make a difference.
By bringing together people with shared experiences of loss, support groups create opportunities for connection, understanding, and mutual support.
Many of our Participants describe leaving sessions feeling:
“Less alone”
“Understood”
“Connected”
“Hopeful”
For some, it is the first time they have spoken openly about their grief since their loss.
The hidden grief in our workplaces
As time passed, this Participant began to notice something.
Grief wasn’t only present in bereavement services or support groups.
It was present at work too.
Behind meetings, deadlines, and professional conversations were colleagues carrying losses of their own.
Some had recently experienced bereavement.
Others were navigating anniversaries, anticipatory grief, or the long-term impact of losing someone important.
Yet many of these experiences remained largely invisible.
This isn’t unusual.
Research consistently shows that grief affects concentration, confidence, relationships, decision-making, and wellbeing. Yet many people feel uncertain about talking openly about loss at work.
As a result, grief often becomes something people carry quietly.
Creating a space for connection
Inspired by the support they had received themselves, this former Participant decided to do something about it.
They established a grief support group within their workplace.
Not as therapy.
Not as counselling.
But as a safe, supportive space where colleagues could connect with others who understood something of what they were experiencing.
The aim was simple: to reduce isolation and create opportunities for honest conversations about grief.
In many ways, it reflected the same principles that make community grief support groups so valuable.
Listening.
Compassion.
Respect.
Shared understanding.
The responsibility that comes with facilitation
While creating a support group can be hugely rewarding, it also comes with challenges.
Facilitators often find themselves navigating difficult emotions, group dynamics, confidentiality, boundaries, and moments of uncertainty.
Many people assume that having lived experience of grief is enough to run a support group confidently.
Lived experience is incredibly valuable.
But facilitating a group is also a skill.
Creating a safe, inclusive environment requires thoughtful planning, structure, and an understanding of how groups function.
It’s one of the reasons we are increasingly contacted by people who want to create grief support spaces in workplaces, charities, healthcare settings, and local communities.
Thinking about starting your own grief support group?
Over the years, we’ve learned a great deal about what helps grief support groups feel safe, welcoming, and effective.
That’s why we created our How to Lead a Grief Support Group course.
Designed for professionals, volunteers, workplace wellbeing leads, and anyone interested in facilitating grief groups, the course covers everything from group structures and facilitation skills to managing difficult moments and facilitator wellbeing.
Whether you’re planning a workplace support group, a community-based group, or simply exploring the idea, it provides practical guidance to help you create a supportive environment with confidence.
The ripple effect of support
When this former Participant first attended one of our groups, they came looking for support.
Today, they are helping provide it.
Their story is a powerful reminder that grief support doesn’t only affect the people sitting in the room.
Sometimes it reaches workplaces.
Sometimes it starts conversations.
Sometimes it creates communities.
And sometimes, one person’s experience of being supported becomes the reason many others receive support too.
That’s a ripple effect worth celebrating.
