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 social support service offers 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 bereavement support visitor.  These sessions are more flexible and can span a number of months.

Volunteer bereavement 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 OK 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 bereavement support visitors.

Our social support service 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 is also a Spiritual Care Co-ordinator to talk to patients and families who want to explore the meaning of life and death, or want to try to resolve painful issues.