Counselling and bereavement support is available to any member of the family, associated with St Catherine's, at any time after the person you knew has died.  You may decide to contact us in the first month, or it may be some years later.

The Patient and Family Support Team offer several ways to help you, either at the hospice or in your own home:

• 12 individual counselling sessions that we advise are taken every week for 12 weeks.
• the aid of a Support Visitor.  These sessions are more flexible and can span a number of months.

Volunteer Support Visitors specifically see you after you have been bereaved, working alongside other members of the team who provide counselling and support to patients and families during the course of an illness.

They meet with you and help you work through your grief.  Visitors listen to your experiences and support you while you are coming to terms with your loss and are working to move on in your life.  They help not only by listening but also by providing a space where it’s okay for you to express your feelings without the pressure 'to put a brave face' on things.  They listen without feeling the need to try and fix things for you.

Are you interested in helping?  We have opportunities for volunteer support visitors.

Our Patient and Family Support Team also has a Welfare Advisor who gives practical information on applying for benefits, wills and dealing with all the paperwork that can feel so daunting. 

There are two Spiritual Care Co-ordinators to talk to patients and families who want to explore the meaning of life and death, or want to try to resolve painful issues.