Peter Bartlam is a Child and Family Therapist with the Family and Individual Support team at Saint Francis Hospice. Here Peter gives an insight into his role in supporting children and young people who are bereaved or facing the loss of someone they love.

I began my role at Saint Francis Hospice at the beginning of 2020 as a bereavement volunteer counsellor after successfully and proudly completing my training course with the hospice.

It was an exciting time attending my first client session at the hospice, which was the first week of March 2020. It was a real shock and unexpected event when Covid was announced, and the lockdown restrictions began.

I wanted to continue and found myself by default arranging all my sessions on the phone throughout Covid. Whilst it was challenging, it was rewarding to support through these difficult times.

I also wanted to provide a face-to-face service where I could safely, and volunteered at two colleges, supporting young children and adults. I also volunteered as a counsellor with Childline, when restrictions relaxed. I supported the monthly adult bereavement group at the hospice and these combinations are what led me to apply for my current role which came up in September 2023.

As a child therapist, I get to work with children from very young up to young adulthood, seeing them at the hospice, at schools and where needed on home visits.

We work creatively with painting and writing and working the way the children can express for them. As a group, we attended a Christmas pantomime at Queens’s theatre and together created special memories.

I have been so fortunate with my colleagues to work on our new newsletter “Insight” which gets sent out to hundreds of schools quarterly. The newsletter is there to support teachers and parents and children and talks about current issues and gives helpful advice and support.

I am currently working with my colleague Stella on our new children’s group which will launch in March and I am extremely excited to begin this rewarding new chapter. The group will be at the hospice once a month over a six-month period and will include different activities for the children to be involved in. This includes art and drama, writing and craft work. I am so excited to be able to offer this support.

If you would like to talk to me or my colleague please feel free to email me at FamilySupportServices@sfh.org.uk