Bristol Centre for Grief Research & Engagement

17/08/2026

How does grief connect to the biggest questions we ask about life?

In our next seminar, Prof. Carlo Leget (University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht) and Dr Mai-Britt Guldin (Center for Grief and Existential Values, Aarhus) will introduce their Integrated Process Model (IPM), which considers loss and grief across five dimensions: physical, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual.

They'll share examples of how the model can be used in practice, and explore what it might offer researchers, clinicians and other professionals working with people experiencing loss.

Please do join us if you can!

📅 Thursday, 17 September
⏰ 1pm
💻 Free and online

🎟️ Please register here: https://www.goodgrieffest.com/events/uob-grief-seminar-prof-carlo-leget-dr-mai-britt-guldin-loss-grief-existential-awareness

Universiteit voor Humanistiek Aarhus Universitet

17/07/2026

Earlier this summer, we held workshops for our newly established advisory panels, who will help shape the future of the Bristol Centre for Grief Research and Engagement.

One brought together bereaved people from across Bristol, while the other connected representatives from local charities, hospices, healthcare and community organisations working in bereavement support.

Together, we mapped landscapes of grief, built a wall of Post-it notes filled with the barriers that can make support difficult to access, and began to imagine what it might take to dismantle them.

We're incredibly grateful to everyone who shared their experiences, ideas and expertise so generously. A special thank you to Kat Lyons for their thoughtful, creative facilitation, and to Christina Saltmarsh (The Harbour) and Rachel Ashley for helping to design and deliver the workshops.

These sessions were the first step in what we hope will be an ongoing conversation. Our advisory panels are already shaping the questions we ask and the way we work, and we look forward to continuing to learn alongside them.

The workshops were generously funded by the NIHR School of Primary Care Research via the Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC), University of Bristol, and the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB).

Read more in our latest blog: https://griefcentre.bristol.ac.uk/2026/07/17/shaping-the-grief-centre-together-what-our-advisory-panels-told-us

08/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our seminar with Professor Matthew Ratcliffe, and to Matthew for such a thought-provoking and generous discussion.

Matthew invited us to think about the many losses that go unnamed or unrecognised – and what this might mean for how we understand grief, ourselves and those around us.

If you couldn't join us live (or would like to revisit the conversation), the recording and presentation slides are now available on our website: https://griefcentre.bristol.ac.uk/events

Our free seminar series returns on Thursday 17 September, when Professor Carlo Leget and Dr Mai-Britt Guldin will explore Loss, Grief and Existential Awareness.

We'd love to welcome you

08/06/2026

What aspects of grief do we not see?

In our next seminar, Professor Matthew Ratcliffe (University of York) considers how grief often involves losses that are difficult to name, explain or trace to a single event. As a result, there may be parts of every grief experience that others fail to recognise, acknowledge or support.

Matthew will explore what this means for research and practice, and how it might help us understand others (and ourselves) better.

📅 Tuesday 23 June
⏰ 1pm BST
💻 Free and online

We'd love you to join us. Register here: https://www.ticketsource.com/goodgrieffest/uob-grief-seminars-prof-matthew-ratcliffe-the-unacknowledged-aspects-of-grief/e-leekyo

21/05/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined our seminar with Dr Emily Harrop (Cardiff University) during .

Emily explored what effective bereavement support really looks like — and how it can be made more accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs of bereaved people. She introduced a a new codebook for interpreting feedback from service users and reflected on the development of the Grief Support Guide.

The recording and slides are now available on our website: https://griefcentre.bristol.ac.uk/events

You can also find details of the next seminar in our series. On 23 June, Professor Matthew Ratcliffe (University of York) will discuss The Unacknowledged Aspects of Grief.

We’d love you to join us

24/04/2026

Join us for this in-person event in Bristol!

🎶 When words are hard to find, music can hold us

This special event explores how singing and music can help us express emotion, ease anxiety and stay connected towards the end of life and in bereavement.

Taking place in person in Bristol, the event brings together Valerie Russell Emmott (Companion Voices), Jannah Warlow (Grief Choir), music therapist Kate Binnie, and researcher Emma Hornby (from the University of Bristol). It will include a live demonstration from Companion Voices, a group who sing for people towards the end of life.

💬 A chance to reflect, listen and experience the power of music.

📍 In person, Bristol
📅 Thursday 7 May, 5pm
⏳ 90 minutes

Register here: https://www.ticketsource.com/goodgrieffest/when-music-holds-us-singing-through-bereavement-in-end-of-life-care-in-person-event-in-bristol/e-addgzy

09/04/2026

What makes bereavement support effective — and how can we improve it?

Join us to hear Dr Emily Harrop (Cardiff University) explore how bereavement support works in practice and what research tells us about how it can best support people who are grieving.

This session will be particularly relevant for people working in healthcare, research, or bereavement support roles.

📅 Wednesday, 6 May
⏰ 1pm
📍 Free and online

🎟️ Please register here: https://www.ticketsource.com/goodgrieffest/uob-grief-seminars-dr-emily-harrop-understanding-optimising-the-benefits-of-bereavement-support/e-zebrlk

02/04/2026

27/03/2026

We're pleased to share this important new research from Edward Kirton-Darling, a Senior Lecturer from the University of Bristol Law School and member of the Bristol Centre for Grief Research & Engagement Network. Ed's report and policy brief look at what we can learn from deaths of people experiencing homelessness – and how future deaths might be prevented.

Drawing on reports from Coroners across England and Wales, the study highlights a growing focus on homelessness and housing, alongside concerns about gaps in support, mental health provision, and wider systemic issues. It also points to differences in how these deaths are investigated, and the missed opportunities where action could have been taken. Each of these deaths carries profound layers of grief, including the collective grief that arises when social systems fail to protect those most at risk.

While the findings are often difficult to read, this research brings important insights together to help inform change – and ultimately save lives.

➡️ Read more in the full report: https://homelessinquests.blogs.bristol.ac.uk

18/03/2026

We’re pleased to share that the recording of our latest online seminar is now available on our website.

A big thank you to Prof. Jessica Jacobson for her insightful talk on the Voicing Loss study, the largest ever study of experiences of the coronial process in England and Wales.

Visit our events page to catch up on Jessica's fascinating lecture and sign up to join us for future seminars: https://griefcentre.bristol.ac.uk/events/

You can find out more about Voicing Loss (and access a wealth of information about coroners' inquests) on the study website: https://voicing-loss.icpr.org.uk