Meet your grief counsellor
Frances Rayner
NCPS (Acc.)
About Frances
Hi, I’m Frances.
I specialise in grief and loss counselling, offering a calm and compassionate space where you can explore your experience of loss at your own pace.
I understand that grief is deeply personal and that everyone’s experience is different. My role is not to tell you how to grieve, but to walk alongside you as you make sense of what has happened and find a way forward that feels right for you.
Understanding grief
A safe space to be heard
Whatever brings you here, your experience matters. You do not need to minimise it or compare it to anyone else’s. This is a space where your grief can be acknowledged and your story can be heard.
Why I specialise in grief and loss
My interest in grief counselling is also shaped by my own experiences of grief and loss. I understand that grief can affect every part of life – how we feel, how we relate to others, our sense of identity, and how we imagine the future.
These experiences have deepened my understanding of how individual and complex grief can be. Alongside my counselling training and professional experience, they have strengthened my commitment to offering a space where people feel heard, understood, and supported through their own experience of loss.
I know that there is no right or wrong way to grieve, and my role is not to tell you how you should feel, but to support you as you navigate what grief means for you.
Your grief is unique
Grief is deeply personal, and no two experiences are ever the same. What you are feeling may not look or sound like someone else’s grief, and that does not make it any less valid.
Grief can take many forms and is often more complex than others may realise. It can affect your emotions, relationships, routines, sense of identity, and the way you experience yourself and the world around you.
Professional membership and training
I am an Accredited Registrant Member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) and work in accordance with their professional code of ethics, supporting safe, ethical, and confidential practice.
I hold an Advanced Diploma in Counselling, alongside specialist training in grief and bereavement support, including with the Foundation of Infant Loss. My training and experience allow me to offer informed and sensitive support to people navigating loss and its wider impact on life.
Working together
What sessions are like
If you are here because you are experiencing loss, you do not need to explain or justify your grief.
Conversations may move between what is happening now, memories of your loss, and the ways grief is showing up in your life. There may also be pauses or quieter moments as we go at a pace that feels right for you.
My role is to offer a steady and compassionate presence as you explore your grief and make sense of your experience in a way that feels right for you.
Ready to take the next step?
I offer a free 20-minute introductory consultation to talk briefly about what has brought you here, answer any questions you may have, and explore whether counselling feels like the right support for you.
You can contact me by email, phone, or through the contact page.