Child & Family Support
Coming to terms with a loved one having an advanced or terminal illness and their death can be an overwhelming experience for adults and children alike. Children may be left with many uncertainties, fears and difficult issues to cope with and often find these very hard to talk about, especially to another close family member or friend. Often, not acknowledging children are involved and what is going on is a common way families struggle to cope.
This is where our dedicated Child & Family Support team of counsellors and psychologists can help. We will work with parents and guardians alike, helping you to understand your own fears and prepare you to support the children/young person in your care. We can do this with 1:1 work, couple work and family work either at the Beacon Centre in Guildford or at Headway House in Farnham.
For more information on the areas where we can help you, please read our ‘Because you’re important too’ booklet or contact the Patient & Family Support team on 01252 729430 or email [email protected]
Family Support
Here at Phyllis Tuckwell, we recognise that for families this can be an incredibly challenging and difficult time. One of the most common questions we are asked is, ‘What do we say to the children?’ We have produced a booklet to help adults supporting children or young people that answer this and other questions. Read it here.
For children who have a parent or relative diagnosed with cancer, we have created a ‘What is cancer?’ leaflet, specifically designed for children to help them understand this difficult and complex subject.
Not knowing what to say, or just saying nothing at all in the hopes children can be protected from the pain of loss is all too often a common misconception. Involving children appropriately and not shutting them out is the first big step in helping them understand and prepare for what lays ahead.
Our trained team can also work 1:1 with children and young people either at Headway House, the Beacon Centre, or at school, both before and after the death of their loved one. We have a range of skills so we can support your child/young person in the most appropriate way.
Our professionals will, where invited, also work directly with the child/young people’s place of education, offering support, guidance and resources to ensure they are appropriately and sensitively supported and cared for in the school environment.
Little Rays
Little Rays is a closed group for primary school aged children, who have experienced the death of a parent/step-parent, guardian or grandparent, due to a terminal illness.
Historically this support has been offered to children whose loved one had been under the care of Phyllis Tuckwell, however, from October 2022, Phyllis Tuckwell are pleased to announce that they will be extending this support to those in the local community who have lost their loved ones following a deteriorating or terminal illness.
Little Rays runs as an after-school activity, weekly, three times a year for a block of six weeks. The children are supported and guided through a range of activities aimed at helping them explore feelings, emotions, and thoughts around the loss of a loved one and provide them with ‘coping strategies’ to take away with them. The sessions will include art and craft based therapeutic activities. Children will be in a closed small group with other bereaved children supported by a trained counsellor and adult volunteers.
For more information please contact Maria Abellan through Patient and Family Support on 01252 729430 or [email protected]
