Terms of service

Our Online Grief and Bereavement Support Service provides structured, time-limited emotional support to adults who are experiencing grief following a bereavement. The service operates using a stepped care model, which aims to match the level of support offered to your current needs.

The service is funded by charitable donations and is offered free of charge without the need for referral.

Our support may include (depending on suitability and availability) psychoeducation, self-management resources, grief literacy, community or peer support, brief intervention, single-session support, and other bereavement-focused support. Support is provided according to assessed need, suitability, and the safe scope of the service.

This service does not provide medical advice, psychiatric diagnosis, emergency support, or treatment for mental illness. It is not a crisis service, psychiatric service, or NHS-commissioned mental health provider.

If you are in crisis, feel unable to keep yourself safe, or require urgent support, you should contact your GP, NHS 111, or emergency services.

Our service is designed specifically for bereavement-related support. It is not suitable for individuals whose primary needs involve acute mental health crisis, severe or enduring mental illness requiring statutory care, or where urgent specialist intervention is required.

This may include (but is not limited to) active suicidal intent, acute psychosis, or other presentations requiring immediate or specialist intervention.

As an open-access service, we reserve the right to assess whether our support is appropriate, safe, and within our remit at any stage. This may include screening for risk, complexity, and suitability of the support being requested.

Where we determine that an individual’s needs fall outside the safe scope of this service, we may decline, pause, or discontinue support.

Where appropriate, we will signpost or refer individuals to alternative services, including GPs, NHS mental health services, crisis services, safeguarding pathways, or other relevant organisations.

This is done in the interests of safety, clinical appropriateness, and responsible use of charitable resources.

Accessing this service does not create any entitlement or guarantee to receive counselling, ongoing therapy, or any specific type, frequency, or duration of support.

Provision of counselling is dependent on clinical assessment, suitability, availability, and the safe operational scope of the service at the time of engagement. We may determine at any stage that counselling is not appropriate, and that alternative forms of support are more suitable, including self-management resources, peer or community support, or onward referral/signposting to external services.

Our model of care recognises that bereavement support may include strengthening personal coping strategies, grief literacy, and support from family, peers, and community networks. These approaches may be offered instead of counselling where clinically appropriate.

We recognise that access to statutory mental health services may be limited at times; however, this does not alter or extend the scope of this service

To access counselling through this service, you must:

• Be aged 18 or over
• Be currently located in the United Kingdom at the time of sessions
• Have experienced a bereavement (death of a person)

We may decline or withdraw access where:

• Your needs exceed the scope of this service, including where there are complex, severe, or enduring mental health conditions
• You are in crisis or at risk of harm to yourself or others

We may also withdraw or pause support where continued engagement is assessed as unsafe or outside the scope of the service.

Where possible, we will signpost you to more appropriate sources of support

Access to the service requires completion of an online triage process. This includes questions about your wellbeing, functioning, and safety.

Your responses help determine the most appropriate support. We reserve the right to decline or limit support

If you are offered counselling:

• Sessions will take place via a secure video link or telephone
• You must attend from a private, safe, and confidential location within the UK
• You must not attend under the influence of alcohol or substances

We may cancel or reschedule sessions in exceptional circumstances and will provide notice where possible. We are not liable for any loss arising from such cancellations.

If you miss, cancel, or reschedule more than two sessions, or arrive more than 15 minutes late, your counselling may be discontinued.

If you do not book an appointment within 15 days of receiving a booking link, you may be discharged from the service.

By using this service, you agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information, including contact details, GP, and emergency contact
• Engage respectfully with staff at all times
• Not record, share, or distribute any part of counselling sessions
• Inform us if you are receiving or intend to receive other therapeutic support

We operate a zero-tolerance approach to abusive or threatening behaviour. We may withdraw the service immediately in such circumstances.

We may contact your GP or emergency contact where necessary to protect your safety or the safety of others. Where possible, we will inform you before doing so.

We reserve the right to withdraw or discontinue support at any stage where continuing would be unsafe or inappropriate, including where risk, complexity, or clinical need falls outside the scope of the service described above.

Where possible, we will provide alternative support options.

We will handle your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Information you provide, including health-related data, will be used to deliver the service and may be used in anonymised form for service evaluation, research, and improvement.

Confidentiality will be maintained except where:

• There is a risk of serious harm to you or others
• Disclosure is required by law (e.g. safeguarding, terrorism, criminal activity)
• Records are required by a court order

Counsellors may discuss their work in professional supervision, maintaining your anonymity.

Session notes will be stored securely and retained for a defined period in line with our data retention policy.

We may use a secure digital documentation tool (Heidi) to support practitioners in recording accurate and contemporaneous clinical notes during sessions. Heidi acts as a data processor on our behalf and may process limited audio data for the purpose of generating structured notes.

This processing is carried out for the provision of health and social care and, where required, with your explicit consent. Data processed by Heidi is not used for any purposes other than supporting the delivery, quality, and safety of care.

Audio data is not retained beyond what is necessary to produce session notes, and all records are stored securely in accordance with our data retention policy. Heidi operates under strict contractual and data protection obligations in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you do not wish for this tool to be used, you may inform your practitioner and alternative arrangements will be considered where reasonably possible.

We may use information collected through this service in anonymised or de-identified form for the purposes of service evaluation, clinical audit, quality improvement, and research.

Anonymised data does not identify you personally and cannot reasonably be used to re-identify you. This may include aggregated insights about service use, outcomes, and effectiveness, which help us improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of our support.

Where appropriate, anonymised data may be shared with partner organisations, researchers, or funders for the purposes outlined above. Any such use will comply with applicable data protection laws, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Your identifiable personal data will not be used for purposes without your explicit consent, unless otherwise required or permitted by law.

We aim to provide a safe and effective service but do not guarantee specific outcomes. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• Any indirect or consequential loss
• Technical issues affecting access to the service
• Decisions made based on the support provided

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be excluded under English law.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the service where:

• You breach these Terms
• Continued engagement is not clinically appropriate
• You disengage from the service

You may stop using the service at any time.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service, you may contact us. We will handle complaints in line with our internal procedures.

You may also raise concerns with relevant professional bodies where applicable.

These Terms are governed by the laws of England. Any disputes arising in connection with them shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.