AtaLoss’ bereavement support is showcased at European Grief Conference 2026
Author: Deborah Auty
Date: 8th September, 2026
Overview: AtaLoss’ CEO and Head of Signposting and Partnerships will be in Portugal this week presenting our pioneering bereavement support model.
AtaLoss is presenting its bereavement signposting and community support at the European Grief Conference in Porto, Portugal, this week.
The biennial conference brings together researchers, practitioners, educators and policymakers from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand to share knowledge and strengthen bereavement support.
Conference discussions will explore how support can be provided across four levels of need:
Level 0 – Bereavement awareness: building understanding of grief across society so that communities are better equipped to respond to loss.
Level 1 – General support and information: recognising grief as a universal experience and helping everyone find appropriate information and support.
Level 2 – Additional support: providing volunteer-led and community-based services for people who need more than information alone.
Level 3 – Complex grief: specialist therapeutic and clinical intervention for the smaller proportion of bereaved people who require it.
AtaLoss’ CEO Yvonne Tulloch will present AtaLoss.org for Level 1, the charity’s UK bereavement signposting and information platform, which helps bereaved people find support suited to their circumstances and preferences. It also provides a trusted resource for professionals and others supporting them.
The charity’s expanding community support programme, The Bereavement Journey®, will also feature in a conference poster presentation for Level 2. The structured, volunteer-led programme provides a safe space in which bereaved people can explore their grief alongside others. It is now offered in more than 650 locations, including churches, community settings and prisons.
The national gap in bereavement support, and the importance of effective signposting, was highlighted by the UK Commission on Bereavement in 2022. Its report noted the AtaLoss.org platform as a directory available to bereaved people - and recommended that information about the range of available support should be offered at multiple points following a death.
Research published by Sue Ryder in 2022 found that 70% of bereaved people did not receive the support they wanted. Many experienced anger, anxiety, loneliness and isolation, while one in five who wanted counselling could not access it and took prescribed medication instead.
Yvonne Tulloch said:
“The European Grief Conference provides a welcome opportunity to share our work towards a gold standard for bereavement support signposting and to highlight our three-stranded model of awareness, signposting and community support.
“We are particularly focused on helping the estimated 85–90% of bereaved people who may not require clinical intervention, but who could grieve healthily with information and access to services relevant to their needs.”
Dr Dawn Hobson, AtaLoss’ Head of Signposting and Partnerships, who is also attending the conference, said:
“There is a gap in knowledge, confidence and connection. Signposting cannot simply be a short list of services on a webpage or a leaflet distributed once. It should be a comprehensive, living service that is available at every point of need—and actively offered, not left to chance.
It should be recognised as a navigation intervention—which should be specified and standardised.
Gold-standard signposting could make an important contribution to the personalised care envisaged by the Health and Care Act 2022.”
Download our conference posters
The two posters being presented at the European Grief Conference are available to download:
Click image to view/download our Transforming Bereavement Signposting Poster
Transforming Bereavement Signposting — introducing AtaLoss.org and our work towards a gold standard for bereavement support signposting
Click image to view/download our The Bereavement Journey® Poster
The Bereavement Journey® — our structured, volunteer-led community support programme
Find out more about our work towards a gold standard for bereavement support signposting or contact office@ataloss.org.
Notes for editors
About AtaLoss
AtaLoss is a national bereavement charity helping bereaved people find support and wellbeing. Its services include AtaLoss.org, a comprehensive bereavement signposting and information platform, and The Bereavement Journey®, a structured community support programme. AtaLoss is Secretariat to the APPG on Grief Support and the Impact of Death on Society.
Media enquiries
For interviews and further information, please contact: office@ataloss.org
Conference materials
High-resolution copies of both conference posters are available from the links above. More information on the European Grief Conference can be found here.
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