Shadow Into Light Creative intervention in bereavement

What help is available following bereavement? Little from the National Health Service that is specific for bereaved people Waiting list locally for bereavement counselling was several months long

Physical and mental health problems that can follow bereavement Increased rates of physical illness including heart attacks, strokes, cancer, accidents, suicide and infections Increased risk of sleep problems, distress, depression, anxiety and other psychological symptoms Increased risk of mortality for the bereaved person

Funding came from The Rayne Foundation, which aspires to understand and engage with the needs of UK society The Quartet Community Foundation, an independent charity which funds projects that improve people’s lives across the West of England

Shadow Into Light aimed to help people Access unexpressed emotions using art and poetry Articulate feelings about their grief Develop new coping mechanisms and new skills Build new supportive friendships

Research/evaluation side of Shadow Into Light Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale Texas Revised Inventory of Grief Completed by all participants before and at the end of the course, and again three months later