How We Work
We have a 24-hour answerphone service. Telephone us during the week and we aim to return your call within a day or two. We are not staffed at weekends and so please expect to wait a little longer if you call then. Please note that our call to you will be from a 'Withheld' or 'Private' number, so you may need to alter your phone settings to allow for this.
When we return your call, we will take some preliminary details and you will be invited to have an assessment with a fully-trained volunteer. This will last about 90 minutes and will usually take place at your home.
This one-off assessment will help us to find out about your bereavement and how it is affecting you, and also to discover if Cruse is the best place for you right now. If you are happy with how the session went, we put you on a waiting list to see a bereavement volunteer.
It is likely that you will have to wait a while before a volunteer is assigned to you for regular sessions. Of course, if you wish you may ring us for help at any time during this period, or email or write to us.
Once you have been allocated a counsellor, you will usually see them once a week for six to eight sessions, with an option to extend this if both you and your volunteer feel it is appropriate.