About us
Our mission
Our Mission is to ensure that people who are grieving, and those who are supporting them, have access to information about grief and resources to support them through their grief.
Our purpose
GriefLink is a website devoted to increasing awareness and understanding of loss and grief, specifically in relation to death-related grief. We do not have counsellors on hand to respond to any specific questions or concerns. Thus, unfortunately, we are unable to respond to urgent or personal requests for help or advice, and we are unable to provide a chat facility.
If you feel it is getting harder to cope with your grief, please contact your GP.
If you need to talk to someone straight away, call:
Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia local call)
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800
The deep effect that a death may have on an individual is often underestimated. GriefLink has been set up as a community resource and aims to provide useful, current, and accurate information for:
- bereaved individuals and families
- friends and carers of the bereaved
- bereavement support groups
- health and welfare professionals
- educational institutions
GriefLink is here to help you find information about grief. It can also link you with available supports. GriefLink will tell you about:
- different death-related grief experiences, such as the death of a child, and death by suicide
- bereavement services and supports in South Australia for self and inter-professional referral
- educational activities and courses in South Australia for bereaved persons and professionals
- links to other grief-related web sites
We list various bereavement services as a community resource for South Australia (SA). For those outside SA, many of the listed organisations now have a national presence.
We welcome feedback on the site, via our Feedback form.
Our history
GriefLink began as a joint project between the National Association for Loss and Grief (South Australia) Inc. and the then Department of General Practice at the University of Adelaide in South Australia.
The site was developed after extensive consultation and review with bereaved persons and a wide variety of carers and professionals working in the field of loss and grief in South Australia. The content and format of the site were evaluated by community groups using contemporary website evaluation methods and was launched in November 1999.
GriefLink was initially funded by a grant in 1998 from the Department of Human Services for South Australia as a needed community resource for the state. GriefLink pages have been updated periodically with support from a number of community organisations. The 2018 extensive website upgrade was supported by a grant from Alfred James Funeral Homes, who have continued to provide sponsorship in 2019 and 2020.
GriefLink became an incorporated organisation in March, 2018. Since then, it has received grants from SA Health through the SA Suicide Prevention Community Grants programme to carry our further work in 2018-2019, and again in 2020-2021 with the support of a Suicide Reference Group.
In 2020, GriefLink received further grants from SA Health, often in partnership with other institutions. Grants were obtained:
- through the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist as part of the Covid-19 Mental Health Virtual Support Network
- through the Palliative Care Programme as part of the development of a state-wide Bereavement Plan, and
- in partnership with Flinders University in a grant directed towards bereavement in residential aged care.
The following organisations continue to provide ongoing in-kind support for GriefLink:
- The University of Adelaide
- AnglicareSA
- University of South Australia (UniSA)
For more information, annual reports are available here:
Annual Report GriefLink Inc 2020-2021
Annual Report GriefLink Inc 2019- 2020
Annual Report GriefLink Inc 2018- 2019
Authorship of GriefLink pages
The GriefLink Management Committee is responsible for the final published text. The committee has drawn on published literature and the advice of experts in each field or topic and we would like to acknowledge the many people who have contributed to the pages.
Our team
GriefLink Inc. is under the direction of a volunteer Management Committee. Current members are:
Dr Mary Brooksbank, AM, MB BS, FRACS, FAChPM (Chair)
Honorary Fellow, University of Adelaide
Retired Director of Palliative Care, Royal Adelaide Hospital and Medical Director, Mary Potter Hospice, Calvary North Adelaide Healthcare (2009)
Retired Chair, Palliative Care SA (2016)
David Roach, OAM, BA (Soc Wk), MSW (Deputy Chair)
Retired Palliative Care social worker, with a particular focus on grief and bereavement.
Retired Lecturer, Social Work (Grief and Bereavement), Flinders University
Dr Katherine Hodgetts, PhD (Psychology), BA (Hons)
Research consultant
Research Officer, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide
Michael Traynor, BSW MSW
Manager, Loss & Grief Services, Anglicare SA
Caitlin Hennessy, BHlthSc
Lived experience, LGBTIQA+ mental health ambassador
Becky Wood Dip(OT), BSocSci (Counselling), M Couns.
Lecturer and Course Coordinator, Graduate Program in Counselling and Psychotherapy, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide
Dr Kate Jurgens, PhD
Private Practitioner
GriefLink Committee Honour Board
The GriefLink Management Committee thanks all the committee members who have supported GriefLink since 1998, but wishes to give particular recognition to three recent retirees who have supported GriefLink since its inception.
Michael Bull, BSW, MSW- retired 2019
Dr Teresa Burgess, PhD – retired 2021
Dr Gillian Laven, PhD, BHlthSC, Grad Cert (Higher Ed) – retired 2021
Our sponsors
GriefLink supporters
The GriefLink Management Committee acknowledges past sponsorship from the following organisations:
- Adelaide Cemeteries Authority
- Adelaide Hills Community Health Service
- Bold Enterprise Pty Ltd
- Community Benefit SA
- Flinders University
- Ian Potter Foundation
- MOSH
- National Association for Loss and Grief Inc
- National Association for Loss and Grief (SA)
- Palliative Care SA
Get in touch
If you have any suggestions for improving or adding to the website please use one of the forms below.
Feedback form.
Page last updated: 29 Dec, 2021