Counselling support
COPS works with two organisations, Winston’s Wish and RedArc, to provide counselling and specialist bereavement support for families.
COPS put me in touch with a counselling service and I was able to have a meaningful conversation with my mother about my dad that I should have had many years ago.
COPS wasn’t even around when my dad died but it would have made a huge difference to me as a teenager.
RedArc
Counselling support for all survivors
COPS has partnered with RedArc to provide counselling support for families bereaved by the loss of their police officer. All COPS families can access the full range of support from RedArc’s Personal Nurse Advisers.
RedArc has many years’ experience in supporting bereaved people, many of whom are police officers, staff or retirees. RedArc Personal Nurse Advisers are all very experienced, qualified nurses and have been trained in bereavement and trauma support.
A Personal Nurse Adviser is allocated to each bereaved family and remains their dedicated nurse for as long as and as often as required, so a strong supportive long term relationship is built up.
About the counselling support available to families
The Personal Nurse Adviser will telephone the survivor on a regular basis and can help in many ways, for example:
Helping families come to terms with what has happened, in their own time, however long this takes
Supporting parents to cope with their children’s grief as well
as their own
Helping families to fill the practical gaps created by their
loss eg childcare, schoolwork etc
Support in getting back to normality, back to work or social life
after the bereavement
Advice on sleeping, relaxation or other health concerns
Discussions relating to things like loved one’s ashes,
headstone wordings, memorials etc
Suitable leaflets, information, memory boxes, workbooks
for children etc
Provision of relevant therapy or counselling eg. a form of complementary therapy may help with relaxation or sleeping, bereavement counselling may be necessary for the adults or children
Identification of charities appropriate to the situation
eg. Winston’s Wish, Grief Encounter, Widowed and Young etc.
OR simply an opportunity to offload to the Personal Nurse Adviser who has plenty of time to listen.
How do families access the counselling support?
Families can access the support in one of two ways – by contacting the COPS office on 01543 410790, who will make a referral to RedArc, or by getting in touch with RedArc directly on 01244 625180. Both options are confidential.
RedArc will not pass any clinical details of support provided to anyone, including COPS. More information about RedArc and the support available can be found at www.redarc.co.uk
There is no cost to families for accessing any of this support.
Winston’s Wish
Counselling support for families with children up to the age of 18
Winston’s Wish was established in 1992 and is the largest provider of childhood bereavement services in the UK. The charity offers a wide range of practical support and guidance to bereaved children and young people aged up to 18, their families, professionals and anyone else concerned about them.
The aim of the support is to help children and young people bereaved of a significant relative build confidence and resilience in order to achieve their full potential. Winston’s Wish has special experience in providing support for children bereaved in traumatic circumstances. In particular, the charity is a national specialist provider of bereavement support for children bereaved through murder, manslaughter and service deaths.
About the counselling support available to families
Winston’s Wish delivers a tailored service to families depending on their personal circumstances using a combination of the following therapeutic interventions:
Helpline: 08088 020 021 staffed by qualified Winston’s Wish practitioners 9am to 5pm on weekdays to provide immediate advice to anyone concerned about a bereaved child
Website: www.winstonswish.org.uk always available online advice and information
Publications and resources: advice and activity booklets and memory boxes available to families
Call back service: a series of planned telephone calls with a Winston’s Wish senior practitioner to provide advice and support when face-to-face support is difficult or not appropriate at the time
Face-to-face support with the family: the core programme of support delivering a series of in-depth therapeutic sessions with individuals and families
In–depth 1:1 work: with individual children and young people, where helpful, using a variety of activities or traditional counselling methods depending on age and circumstances
Residential and/or non-residential social therapeutic groups, supporting children and young people, with parallel groups for their parent(s)/carer(s) at a nearby venue
Outward bound experiences for bereaved teenagers to help build confidence and resilience
Throughout, Winston’s Wish practitioners will agree most appropriate next steps with the family.
How do families access the support?
Families can access the support in one of two ways – by contacting the COPS office on 01543 410790 who will make a referral to Winston’s Wish, or by getting in touch with Winston’s Wish directly via the helpline 08088 020 021. Both options are confidential.
Winston’s Wish will not pass any clinical details of support provided to anyone, including COPS. More information about Winston’s Wish and the support available can be found at www.winstonswish.org.uk There is no cost to families for accessing any of this support.
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COPS
Care of Police Survivors (COPS) is a charity that supports the families of police officers and staff who have lost their lives on duty.
Tel: 01543 410790
Email: admin@ukcops.org
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Care of Police Survivors (COPS)
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About COPS
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