• When a client contacts the service a member of our supportive team will listen to their experience, answer any questions they may have about bereavement or bereavement support and share helpful information about our services and other appropriate organisations that they might wish to contact. The helpline is open from 9am-9pm, Monday to Friday and although we endeavour to personally answer every call there may be times when the phones are busy, in which case the client will hear an answerphone message, they will simply be asked to leave their contact details and tell us the best time for us to call them and we will ring them back as soon as possible – at the latest on the next working day.
• All Professional Help staff are trained in counselling skills and bereavement care and our Associate Counsellors are highly qualified professional counsellors who have successfully completed our rigorous application process. All of our people are friendly, reassuring and supportive as well as being fully vetted and insured.
• Sometimes a client may speak with you about accessing support, but you may feel that they need some help in making the first step, so with the client’s permission you too can contact SAIF Care, pass along their details and ask us to contact the client directly.
• SAIF Care is a free to access helpline, which clients can call as often as they need to. Calls are generally limited to about one hour in duration. The email service offers the opportunity for clients to communicate with a counsellor either on a one-off or ongoing basis, and our webchat service is available for instant chats. We also normally limit webchats to one hour in duration. If the client is looking for longer term counselling support, we can help them to find appropriate local bereavement organisations, or look into counselling.

Any clients who contact the service under the age of 18, will be supported appropriately and advised (sometimes referred with the client’s permission) into suitable young persons services.

• The SAIF Care service no longer includes counselling.
• However, if you would like to continue to offer counselling for free through your Funeral Services, there is the option to set up a counselling fund with Professional Help Ltd at competitive rates. If you wish to know more about this, contact us.
• All funeral services that set up a counselling fund will have the opportunity to embed the SAIF Care chat box on their website.

The SAIF Care service is only available to the clients of full SAIF member businesses. Funeral Directors and their staff may contact SAIF Support  on 0800 077 8578 or help@saifsupport.co.uk