We recognise that the grieving process is a normal response to the death of a baby, child or young person.

Not everyone who is bereaved will choose to engage in counselling. It is important that beginning to speak about your grief takes place when you feel ready and when the time feels right for you. Counselling may be considered appropriate, but it is your choice and might depend on the individual situation or circumstances of the bereavement.

Hope House Children’s Hospices offer a free and confidential counselling service.

Bereavement counselling is available to any close family member who has been affected by the death of a baby, child or young person up to 18 years of age when they died. The death may have occurred in any circumstances. This support is available to children from five years of age, young people and adults who live within our catchment area of Shropshire, Cheshire, Mid and North Wales. You do not need to have had any prior contact with Hope House or Tŷ Gobaith Children’s Hospices.

Meet our counselling team

How can I access counselling?

You can phone and refer yourself for counselling using the contact numbers below. With their permission, you can also refer a close family member. Counselling is available from three months to five years following the death. 

What to expect following referral

You will be offered an initial assessment appointment with one of our qualified and experienced counsellors.

The assessment can be attended as an individual, a couple or, in some cases, as a family if all have been referred. This will offer the chance to see if counselling feels right for you and to ask any questions you might have. If you choose to engage in counselling you will be offered 12 sessions. Counselling sessions last for up to one hour. A therapeutic contract will be established between you and your counsellor, outlining expectations of the counselling process and regularity of sessions. We offer counselling sessions at our counselling centres, community hubs, on the online platform, Zoom, and also by telephone.

Our counsellors

Our counselling service is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

All our counsellors are accredited or registered members of BACP, have extensive experience in bereavement counselling, and adhere to the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. Our counselling sessions are available during office hours and, by arrangement, in the evenings and out of hours.

Confidentiality

Trust is the cornerstone of a counselling relationship and confidentiality is of paramount importance.

We do ask for the name and address of your GP and, with your permission, send a letter at the beginning and end of our work together simply informing them that you are receiving counselling from Hope House or Tŷ Gobaith. However, the content of all counselling sessions will remain confidential unless there is a risk of significant harm to yourself, a third party or a child. In the event of this, and where possible, following a discussion with you we may contact your GP, social services or the police to raise any concerns, but only in the interest of your health and safety.

Note keeping

Your counsellor will keep brief confidential notes following each session.

Counselling notes are saved securely on our Care Database and can only be accessed by your counsellor. You can request sight of your counselling notes if you wish. Any third party requesting access will require your signed agreement before information is released.

Children and young people

When working with children and young people our counsellors will establish whether the child or young person is willing to inform their parents or carers, who have parental responsibility, about the counselling sessions. If so, we will ask them to sign a form agreeing to their child engaging in counselling.

If a child or young person chooses not to inform their parents/carers, the counsellor will decide whether they consider them to be ‘Gillick competent,’ i.e. sufficiently mature and able to understand the nature of the counselling and bereavement support process, before deciding whether counselling can take place. In this case a young person may sign an agreement for support themselves. We encourage open discussion with parents, carers or family members where appropriate

Complaints

Hope House Children’s Hospices has a documented complaints policy (please contact your counsellor, the counselling coordinator or the pathways manager for details

All complaints are treated seriously and with respect. BACP has a Professional Conduct team to whom complaints about a BACP accredited service or individual member can be referred and dealt with under the Professional Conduct Procedure (www.bacp.co.uk). Hope House Children’s Hospices has a documented complaints policy (please contact your counsellor, the counselling coordinator or the pathways manager for details).

Evaluation and feedback

When counselling and bereavement support has finished we will send you a confidential questionnaire for your feedback.

You can fill the form in anonymously. We value feedback and welcome your comments. Evaluation forms received are periodically collated and anonymised reports of the findings are available on our website.

Support groups

We have a bereaved parents Facebook support group that is only open to those known to the hospice.

We also run a monthly ‘drop in’ support group for bereaved parents known to the hospice, this group is facilitated by hospice staff and takes place on the last Thursday of each month from 7pm – 8.30pm in the Sunstone Centre.

For enquiries and referrals please contact the Pathways Administrator on 01492 554443 or email [email protected]

Download our Counselling Service Specification

Other useful websites