New addition to the services being provided by South Tipperary Hospice is widely welcomed

The range of services South TipperaryHospice is providing is expanding all of the time.

The Children’s and Adolescents Grief Support Service is the most recent addition and one that the board members of South Tipperary Hospice have been working on for some time.

READ MORE: South Tipperary Hospice launches new support service for young people

It involved a number of visits by South Tipperary Hospice board members to Limerick to the Grief Support Centre to examine the successful model there.

The service is now up and running at the South Tipperary Hospice offices on the quay and later this year it will have its own designated room in the new hopice headquarters further up the quay in the former Kamboat premises at Tower House.
Jackie Fehily, Art Psychotherapist (MA), is running the new child and adolescent grief support service at South Tipperary Hospice.

EXPERIENCE

Jackie has over 10 years experience working in schools and community mental health, supporting children, adolescents, adults and families through bereavement, trauma, and emotional difficulties.

SAFE SPACE

“My work focuses on providing a safe and creative therapeutic space where young people can use creative art alongside gentle conversation to explore and express their feelings.
Grief can be particularly challenging for children and teenagers, who often struggle to find the words to describe what they are feeling.

Art Psychotherapy allows them to communicate and process emotions in a natural, non-verbal way, helping them to make sense of loss, build resilience, and develop healthy coping skills.
This new service is an important addition to the Hospice’s bereavement support program, which also offers counseling for adults.

It provides a much needed, age-appropriate, compassionate care for young people in our community who are navigating grief. Referrals and enquiries are welcome from parents, schools, and healthcare professionals,” said Jackie Fehilly.

VOLUNTEER DRIVERS
The range of services now provided by the South Tipperary Hospice is growing all of the time.
The charity began funding carers to provide personal care in the home to Hospice clients.

The nurses and GPs identify the patients who require this help and the Hospice engages the carers through agencies.
Another initiative involves a team of volunteer drivers who transport Hospice patients to healthcare appointments when they are unable to use public transport and do not have family or friends able to take them.

The Hospice provides free complementary therapies such as Acupuncture, Reiki, reflexology and massage to patients who find them beneficial.

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MUSIC THERAPY
Music therapy is also available and is provided by Joe Roche, a tenor singer and qualified music therapist.
The Hospice also provides one-to-one counselling for patients and family members dealing with a terminal illness diagnosis and bereavement counselling. A bereavement support group is also running on a regular basis.