Talk: Why bereaved clients might be vulnerable adults

“You were brilliant - thank you for giving up your time !!”

I was a guest speaker on 7 June 2022 for a joint Devon & Cornwall Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE) and South West Society of Later Life Adviers (SOLLA) Regional Group meeting. In layman’s terms, this means I was doing an online presentation to a group of mainly lawyers and financial advisers, all who specialise in advising elderly and vulnerable adults.

The topic was “Why Bereaved Clients may be Vulnerable Adults” - a subject close to my heart. As a widow in my thirties, I never thought I would be classed as a vulnerable adult, however, the emotions and feelings that come with grief were so strong that there were times that I suffered from depression and loneliness. The thought of money from life policies made me feel “icky” and I was most definitely at risk of being taken advantage of because I needed to do something with the assets I had inherited my late husband’s estate.

I shared my story and then used the mental health knowledge I have gained both from my counselling course and from the training I had to become a Cruse bereavement support volunteer. As well as talking through the different models people have invented to try to understand grief, I shared some analogies that did (and didn’t!) help me. Finally I explained a bit about vulnerable adults, why I had some mental blocks dealing with the practicalities and how professional advisers can better serve their clients with this knowledge.

How well people cope after the death of a loved one will vary greatly. However, it was a fantastic opportunity to share my thoughts on why bereaved clients might be vulnerable. The aim was that those present will be better able to understand the process of bereavement and hence some of the issues that their clients (and perhaps sadly their own friends and family) face dealing with their grief.

The talk was such a success that I have been asked to do three more different presentations on similar topics!

To enquire about speaking opportunities,
please visit the Public Speaking page on this website.

“Each person’s grief journey is unique as a fingerprint or a snowflake.”
- Earl A. Grollman