A chat with Held in our Hearts

Held in our Hearts is  a Scottish charity providing baby loss counselling and peer support to families, with over 40 years’ experience of offering compassionate bereavement care in the community. We had a chat with Heather to hear about the work they do and how they keep themselves well.

If you would like us to share your story, please email ithrive@health-in-mind.org.uk.

We are a Scottish charity, providing support and counselling to families whose baby or young child has died.  All our services are person centred and we connect and journey with a family at a pace that feels right for them.  No one’s grief is the same and some families may receive early intervention from Hospital to Home whereas others may have a peer supporter or receive long term counselling.

Hospital to Home intends to fill a gap in the transfer of bereaved families between hospital and home by providing bespoke and targeted short term support to bereaved families, after the devastating loss of their baby.  As well as emotional support, they can assist with funeral planning, support and advice for follow up hospital appointments and returning to work.  They can also ensure siblings have the support they need and identify any issues associated with complicated grief early, so additional support can be arranged.

Our Peer Support Team are fully trained members of staff but they are also bereaved parents, meaning they understand some of what other bereaved parents are going through.  Bereaved parents are allocated a Peer Support Worker, who will meet with them in person, online or on the phone.  This is a safe space for them to speak with someone who has walked in their shoes.

Counselling offers a therapeutic relationship for bereaved parents to explore their grief in a more structured way.  Our counsellors are trained to guide families through the grieving process, supporting them after the death of their precious and much-loved baby.  Counselling sessions can be in person or online.  This is a confidential service governed by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and COSCA, Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland.  

We are passionate about what we do, as many of our staff are bereaved parents themselves.  Losing a baby can feel very isolating and lonely and it can often feel like no one understands.  It is very different from any other type of loss you will experience in life. The voice of the bereaved parent is at the heart of everything we do and our wish would be that no one goes home, after the loss of their baby, without long term person centred emotional support in the community.

We truly believe you can’t support someone else if your own cup is empty, which is why the wellbeing of our staff is a priority.  All of our support staff receive regular external supervision, 1 to 1s with their line manager and group check ins.  Everyone is encouraged to reach out if they have had a difficult session with a bereaved a parent or a particular situation has triggered their own grief.  Everyone in the team supports each other and there are always plenty hugs to go round.

We believe that no one should be alone after the death of their child and we will continue to strive for the best baby loss care in Scotland.