Areas of support
Losing someone you love is one of the most profound and disorienting experiences a person can face. Whether your loss is recent or long-carried, sudden or expected, grief counselling offers a space to be heard, without judgement, without pressure, and without a timetable.
Book an AppointmentI am Gareth Vaughan, a BACP Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist based in New Quay, Ceredigion. I offer bereavement and grief counselling in person in West Wales and online via Microsoft Teams to clients anywhere in the UK.
Bereavement is the experience of loss, most commonly the death of someone close to us. The word itself comes from an Old English root meaning "to be robbed," which captures something true: grief can feel like something essential has been taken without warning, leaving a gap that reshapes everything around it.
Grief does not follow a predictable path. You may feel numb, devastated, relieved, angry, or strangely ordinary, sometimes all in the same afternoon. There is no correct way to grieve, and no fixed time by which you should feel better. What grief counselling offers is a consistent, safe space where your experience, in all its complexity, is welcomed.
Over more than 15 years of clinical practice, including work within a specialist bereavement service and a hospital-based cancer team, I have supported people through many different kinds of loss:
Bereavement counselling is not about moving on or letting go. It is about finding a way to carry your loss, to integrate it into your life rather than being overwhelmed by it.
In our work together, I can help you make sense of what you are feeling, explore the relationship you had with the person you lost, sit with the parts of grief that feel difficult to speak aloud, and find your own meaning in a changed world. I draw on Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and a Polyvagal-informed approach, always led by what feels right for you.
There is no right time. Some people benefit from support in the acute early weeks of loss; others come months or years later when grief resurfaces, intensifies, or has quietly accumulated. Both are equally valid. If you are wondering whether counselling might help, that wondering is often enough of a reason to reach out.
Guilt, anger, relief, and ambivalence are all entirely natural parts of grief, particularly after complicated relationships, sudden losses, or deaths that came with unresolved difficulties. These emotions are not signs that something is wrong with you. They are welcome in the counselling room, and working through them can be some of the most meaningful therapeutic work there is.
Yes. Old grief does not always resolve on its own, and it is very common for losses from the past to resurface, particularly at anniversaries, milestones, or times of new change. Counselling can help at any stage.
Yes. I offer confidential bereavement counselling via Microsoft Teams to clients anywhere in the UK. Online sessions are just as effective as in-person work for grief support, and many people find the comfort of being at home particularly helpful when processing difficult emotions.
I am based in New Quay, Ceredigion, West Wales. In-person sessions are available to clients in New Quay, Aberaeron, Cardigan, Lampeter, and across the wider Ceredigion and West Wales area.