Grief Centre

17/02/2026

February is Pride Month — a time to celebrate the strength and diversity of our rainbow communities, and also to gently acknowledge the grief many carry.

For LGBTQIA+ people, grief can be layered and complex. It may include the loss of a partner or chosen whānau, estrangement from family, or grief that isn’t always recognised or understood. You deserve support that honours your identity and your relationships.

At Grief Centre, we provide inclusive, affirming support for people of all identities and communities.
This Pride Month, we remind you that no one has to navigate grief alone. 🌈

15/02/2026

So great to see this, and kudos to the founders for starting this initiative to connect to other grieving fathers.

It truly takes a village - compassionate friends, family, and neighbors coming together - to hold space for grief and heal side by side. 💛

"Men don't talk, but it's okay to talk about baby loss and that's what we're trying to do."

Yesterday, dads Brett, Sean, Sam, Steven and Aaron were on This Morning, talking about their football club, Forget Me Knot FC. The club was created to bring together local dads affected by baby loss.

The dads spoke about their experiences of baby loss and how connecting with other dads has helped them feel less alone in their grief.

Thank you all for sharing so openly 🩷

We know it can be hard to navigate baby loss without the right support.​ And almost two thirds of partners who have been through baby loss told us they need help to open up. ​

That's why we created our Dads and Partners Hub, full of information, answers and stories from dads and partners.​ Find tailored support: https://bit.ly/3yOI5DZ

📸 ITV

15/02/2026

📢Last chance to join us for next week's webinar!

If you can't make it at this time, you can still register and a recording will be sent out for you to watch within the next 30 days.

💻This live webinar explores how neurodivergent youth and adults process the world and experience loss beyond neurotypical expectations. It covers strengths and challenges, influences on life experiences, and how to adapt counselling and support practices to be more accessible. The session will review current evidence, resources, and real-world examples to enhance your practice.

👤Presenter: Arletta van den Bosch
📅Live webinar: Tuesday 24th February, 1pm – 3pm NZDT
🔗Book here: https://book.griefcentre.org.nz/neurodiversity0226

13/02/2026

Valentine’s Day can be beautiful. It can also be unbearably heavy.

For many, it’s a quiet reminder of someone who should be here but isn’t. A partner. A parent. A child. A friend. A love that didn’t get enough time.

If you’re carrying grief today, you are not alone.

Love doesn’t end when a life does. It changes form. It becomes memory. It becomes the songs you can’t skip. The traditions you still keep. The ache that shows up in ordinary moments. The warmth that still finds you sometimes, unexpectedly.

There is no “moving on” from love and grief. There is only moving forward with it.

So today, if all you can do is breathe and remember, that is enough. If you light a candle, visit a place you shared, say their name out loud, or simply sit with the weight of it - that counts as love.

Grief is proof that love was real. And love, in every form, still matters.

Holding space today for the ones we love and miss. ❤️

12/02/2026

👧🏼👶🏾 Children’s Mental Health Week – “This Is My Place”

This week reminds us how important it is for children and young people to feel they belong — at home, at school, and in their communities.

For grieving tamariki and rangatahi, loss can deeply shake that sense of place. At Grief Centre, we support young people and their whānau to feel heard, understood, and less alone — helping them reconnect with a sense of safety and belonging.

Every child deserves a place where they feel they matter. 💛

If you're supporting a grieving child, you may find Grief Centre's booklet for children and booklet for carers useful: https://www.griefcentre.org.nz/resources/

These pages (not affiliated with Grief Centre) also have some good resources for discussing mental health and grief with children:
📄https://www.twinkl.co.nz/resource/t2-lf-10-free-twinkl-life-taster-childrens-mental-health-week-resource-pack
📄https://schoolofkindness.org/childrens-mental-health-week-2026
📄https://www.skylight.org.nz/resources-all

09/02/2026

In December, we welcomed Dr Ruth Lawson-McConnell to present our last webinar for 2025 “Working with loss: An attachment-informed, internal family systems approach” which predominantly focused on grief relating to death and bereavement. It turned out to be our most successful webinar of the year and we now have 2 bits of good news:

📢 We have just uploaded this webinar for on-demand access. If you missed it you can sign up here: https://book.griefcentre.org.nz/attachment26

📢 As this is a large and deep topic, Ruth is presenting a 'part 2' webinar for us in April titled "Living grief: Building client resilience in the face of life's futilities and ambiguous losses". You can find our more and book your spot on this second webinar here: https://book.griefcentre.org.nz/livinggrief0426

02/02/2026

Seasons for Growth Howick is running an adult grief group in March. All details on the image.

Please note: this is not a Grief Centre event, we are just sharing on behalf of Seasons for Growth.

02/02/2026

"How funerals help you accept death emotionally — not just intellectually."

A thoughtful read from FDANZ, friends and partners of Grief Centre. 💛

https://funeraldirectors.co.nz/news-and-events/news-and-advocacy/how-funerals-help-you-accept-death-emotionally-not-just-intellectually/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPsv0dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE0OXU3MkZEY2llT256bFRlc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkolHe9aPuNwzVehjPnu_RZLCBsBdXPVnGtvH-Xm1CsiOjT8Beq-saQHVrB5_aem_AShgKjLTmGWk64AYJMcquQ

19/01/2026

If you live in the North Shore or Rodney regions and have been thinking about counselling, now is the time to contact us!

We have some funding available, thanks to Lister Presbyterian Health Trust, to subsidise the cost of counselling sessions and make getting support that little bit more affordable.

Please contact our office on 0800 331 333 to find out more.

12/01/2026

💛

08/01/2026

We're back and pleased to announce the first of our live professional development webinars for 2026.

📅FEBRUARY:
- Neurodiversity in practice: Adapting support and counselling for loss and grief in youth and adults
📅MARCH:
- Working at the intersection of Rainbow and spirit: Practical approaches for affirming Rainbow spiritual lives and supporting the journey to wellbeing
- Effective strategies for supporting bereaved individuals living with dementia

🔗 Find out more about these webinars here: https://www.griefcentre.org.nz/webinars/

📰 And if you want to sign up to our professional development newsletter to stay in the loop about all of our live and on-demand trainings, you can join here: http://eepurl.com/ged6Xj

We look forward to seeing you online in 2026 👩🏾‍💻

16/12/2025

Thanks to our valued supporters, we've raised $320 - but the need is much greater, and many families are still waiting for support.

Every gift, no matter the size, brings hope to someone who needs it.

You can donate here: www.griefcentre.org.nz/donate