Coping with Grief

At Tobin Brothers Funerals, we understand grief carries with it a myriad of emotions, some of which can be confusing, troublesome, and hard to manage. As such, we’ve taken care to provide an assortment of resources designed to help you cope during this trying time. 

From taking a look at the process of bereavement itself, and how you can use the pain of grief to honour, reflect on, love and honour what was, to how to help children cope with grief, we offer some helpful tips and insight into death, the grieving process, and the variety of support services that are available to you as you navigate your loss. 


Grief is the very natural response to a significant loss in our life. Grief takes time, and the length of time is different for everyone as they move through the process. Our brochure The Process of Grief elaborates on this point and is a great resource at this time.

Perhaps when we are grieving we find ourselves behaving in ways which surprise us and/or others. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to grieve. There are many reasons which influence our responses. Our information that outlines some Factors Influencing Grief Responses may assist in understanding your own feelings and/or those of family members and friends.

What can I say to help someone who is grieving? A very commonly asked question. We offer Some Helpful Suggestions on our website and we hope this will assist you to give the quality of help you wish to offer.

The loss which most often causes intense emotional pain and many other different responses, is death. There is no easy way to lose someone you love and often the cause of the death brings with it its own complexities, an example of this is when death occurs through suicide. Our brochure Surviving Suicide gently outlines some helpful ways to cope with this devastating event. 

Another significant factor which influences our responses is our age at the time of the loss. Children develop over a period of years in their ability to grasp concepts such as time and the permanency of death. Our brochure Children and Death offers a concise overview of this development of understanding which will assist parents, teachers, caregivers and others who support grieving children, we also offer more information on our page Children in Grief.

Sometimes, in life, we experience losses which are not recognised publicly and therefore we do not receive the support we need. The information listed on our web page Grief Can Come in Many Forms and at Many Times acknowledges this fact, and offers insights into what an individual may be dealing with privately.


We have listed a range of other helpful Information and Resources here.


We recognise that losing a loved one can be a life-changing experience, and we invite you to contact us following the funeral, if you feel we can help in any way.

For 24 hour service and enquiries, contact us at info@tobinbrothers.com.au or telephone (03) 9373 7000.


We also welcome you to join our online community via Facebook or Instagram, and note that we have various After Care Events that are held annually for bereaved families and friends.