From worries about friends and family, to feelings about dying, our qualified Counsellors, Student Counsellors, and Emotional Support Visitors are here to help you cope with the emotional impact of living with a life-limiting or terminal condition – or caring for someone who is.
Through one-to-one sessions or group work, our Wellbeing team provide a safe, confidential, supportive space to help you explore your feelings, gain insight, and build coping strategies.
Whether you’re dealing with a recent diagnosis, ongoing illness, or loss, we’re here to help you find strength to face your challenges.
I had no idea what to expect from my counselling sessions but the counsellor’s in-depth, perceptive questions enabled me to look inside myself and understand what was going on.
Emotional Support for Patients
We offer one-to-one counselling for those who are living with a life-limiting or terminal condition. We also facilitate an emotional support group for patients who are experiencing breathlessness and have already attended the Breathlessness Class with our Therapies team.
Emotional Support for Family Members and Carers
We’re here for you from the moment someone close to you is referred to St Catherine’s until their last days of life, and up to five years after bereavement.
We offer one-to-one anticipatory grief counselling and one-to-one bereavement counselling with our student or qualified Counsellors. We can also provide one-to-one emotional support with one of our trained Emotional Support Visitors. More details about our Bereavement Groups can be found below.
Bereavement Groups
Our bereavement groups provide a safe and supportive space to express emotions and honour the memory of a loved one. Through connection with others – by sharing stories, being seen and heard, and finding solidarity with those who understand – you can begin to integrate your loss with the reassurance that you are not alone.
STEPS
Our STEPS group provides a supportive space in nature to talk about your experience of loss alongside others who are learning to live with their grief. Pre-booking is required. Please contact us for the start date of the next group.
Date: Tuesdays for 8 weeks
Time: 1.45pm until 4pm
Address: Either in Tilgate Forest or Tilgate Park
Please note, to participate in STEPS you will need a level of fitness that allows you to walk outside for an hour on uneven terrain.
Parents Remembering Together Drop-In Group
This is a supportive group for bereaved parents of adult children. Running once per month, this group provides a safe space where parents can share their experiences with others who understand. This is an open group, but please do let us know if you plan to attend.
Date: Third Wednesday of the month
Time: 5.30pm-7pm
Address: St Catherine’s Hospice, Grace Holland Avenue, Pease Pottage, RH11 9SL
Understanding Bereavement
This structured group is aimed at supporting people who are between three and nine months bereaved. The group meets fortnightly for six weeks. A new topic is discussed each week, and there is the chance to talk and share with other attendees. Pre-booking is required.
Date and Time: Mondays 3pm-4.30pm
Address: St Catherine’s Hospice, Grace Holland Avenue, Pease Pottage, RH11 9SL
Bereavement Drop-In Group
This drop-in group is aimed at people who are between six and 18 months bereaved. The group provides a chance to meet other people, over a cuppa, who have also been bereaved, so you can gain peer support through shared experiences. The session will be supported by our Wellbeing team. This is an open group, but please do let us know if you plan to attend.
Date: Every first Wednesday of the month.
Time: 10.30am – 12.30pm
Address: St Catherine’s Hospice, Grace Holland Avenue, Pease Pottage, RH11 9SL
If you’re interested in attending one of our groups, please contact our Wellbeing team on stch.wellbeing@nhs.net or call 01293 447333.
FAQs
If you are having one to one counselling, we will talk through any of the issues or experiences that are worrying you. Each of us have our own style and way of working but broadly speaking your counsellor will help you to work through the following three steps:
Exploring your experiences – the nature of your feelings and what impact they are having on you. The history of how your feelings came about and what changes you’d like to see.
Understanding your experiences – why you are struggling with these feelings and what may be preventing you from overcoming them.
Working with your experiences – finding the strength and resources to resolve your difficulties, or at least make them more bearable.
Nothing. Counselling and emotional support is free to anyone who is being cared for by St Catherine’s Hospice. We also offer free counselling to carers and people who are bereaved.
To make an appointment with one of our counsellors, please ask any of your healthcare professionals for a referral to St Catherine’s Hospice. Alternatively you can call us on 01293 447333.
Your counselling sessions will be face-to-face at the hospice; via telephone; online using a secure system; or, very occasionally, in your home. We also offer a limited number of slots at The Park Hub in Oxted on Mondays.
Your sessions are confidential within certain limits. All members of our Wellbeing team, including volunteers, have regular clinical supervision to ensure the quality of their work with you. The discussions remain confidential to those attending.
Anyone under the care of the hospice has their general details kept on our electronic database, which is available to all clinical staff. In addition, we keep a brief and password-protected record of counselling sessions, which is not available to the wider hospice team. We have a clear process which makes every effort to keep your information secure.
Please discuss this with us if you have any concerns. With your agreement, we will send a letter to your GP advising that we are providing you with support.
We monitor and evaluate our services using audit and feedback questionnaires. The results are available on request and we always welcome additional feedback to help improve our service.
Downloadable Guides
Here, you can download information on our counselling and emotional support services.
Download ‘Talking to children when someone close is very ill’ leaflet
