We are commissioned by the NHS to offer short-term bereavement counselling for clients who are registered with a Camden or Islington GP or who live in the boroughs of Camden or Islington. Bereavement counselling sessions are offered either face-to-face in our offices in Kentish Town or remotely. The waiting time from referral to assessment is six to eight weeks. Assessment determines whether CCIWBS (Camden City Islington & Westminster Bereavement Service) can offer a suitable service for each client. If our service is suitable, clients will be assigned a counsellor after a short wait; dependant on client and counsellor availability; or, if our service is unsuitable for a client an onward referral to a more suitable service may be suggested. People who come for bereavement counselling often do so because their grieving process has been complicated, for example by the circumstances of the death, the client’s relationship to the deceased or the continuing impact of the bereavement on the client’s daily life. Bereavement counselling is most beneficial when clients feel ready and have time to talk about their loss for several sessions. This can often be some time afterwards. In the initial stages of bereavement people are not emotionally ready or able to benefit from bereavement counselling yet and need six to twelve months to process their loss first. Whilst clients can apply for our service at any stage in their bereavement journey, we do not generally accept referrals until clients have processed the first six months of grief following their most recent bereavement.