If you have been bereaved and feel you may not have come to terms with your loss, we hope you will benefit from attending The Bereavement Journey.

We realise that grief can be very painful and The Bereavement Journey has been designed to validate every person’s experience and help them feel safe. There is no expectation to say or do anything. Participants make their own decisions about what feels right for them and they do their own grief work. To maximise the benefit, we recommend attendance at all the 6 main sessions and that a trusted person is found to check in with after each session.

The Bereavement Journey is being run nationally in many locations across the UK. It is produced by Ataloss.org. For tha national Bereavement Journey national website see www.thebereavementjourney.org

Bereavement is one of the hardest times of life and without support, grief can be suppressed and lead to further loss or mental health issues.

Run over 6 weeks (with an optional 7th week for those who want to talk about loss & faith), each Session comprises two films, each followed by an opportunity for discussion in a small group, with a break between.  There’s extra group time in Sessions 1 & 6 and Session 7 ends with a time of quiet reflection.

Participants are placed in groups of 6-8 and volunteers guide them in exploring their loss, aided by a Manual.  A qualified counsellor is appointed to advise when required. The Bereavement Journey is a course that has been run nationally for a number of years. We have run it locally in Leighton Buzzard library for the past two years with very positive feedback.

Feedback from past participants:

M- “For anyone enquiring about the next course, I can only say that - although initially I was unsure about joining (as I suppose most people are) - I found the course to be invaluable and cannot praise yourself and Michelle too highly for your sensitivity and understanding.” (December 2025)

D - “I got a lot of support from the course and also from the ladies that were there. I would urge anyone to go along.” (June 2025)

M – “I found the course very good, and it helped me a lot. When you have lost someone so close to you it’s hard to come to terms with it but meeting other people who have also lost someone makes you feel you're not alone and you seem able to cope better.” (June 2025)

S- “At first reluctant to attend but glad I did. Gave chance to talk feelings of loss and support from others and continues in times of need.” (June 2025)

S- “The sessions have been incredibly helpful. But I think the main thing has been having people to talk to, who truly understand what it’s like to grieve for someone close.” (June 2025)

P – “Didn't understand that loss and grief have so many facets.” (June 2025)

R- “The sessions and their impact have been so valuable.” (June 2025)

C- “What would I say to someone thinking of joining? Just do it! Nothing to lose, maybe things to gain. It became a Thursday safe space, a chance to say yes, I'm not in a good place today, or I'm angry or fed up or I miss someone. It really was a non-judgemental 2 hours, without feeling a need to always say that all was fine. And what helped? Videos were good and breaking off into small groups to discuss them was really helpful. Always good to hear other people's stories and there never seemed pressure on anyone to talk.” (June 2025)

Our next course runs:

Thursday 5 March 2026, 1-3pm

Leighton Buzzard Library

(There is no charge for attending this course)

To register please contact Colin

via the ‘Contact us’ page - CLICK HERE