Chris Stephenson, Senior Hospice Counsellor, and Caron Smith, Art Psychotherapist, from the Wellbeing Team recently facilitated a group specifically for women who had experienced the loss of their mother.
This group combined a Counselling and Art Therapy approach which has previously been used in our bereavement support group work. It has been successful in facilitating change, enhancing wellbeing with a core focus on self-expression and self-care.
Chris said: “Mother loss can be very complex to navigate in grief; acknowledging such a significant relationship in women’s lives and the loss of it in this themed group setting is something we have both hoped to do for some time now.
“Offering these sessions allows us to develop our practice and grow our service to meet people’s specific needs. They will also be offered across both sites as the needs arise.”
The sessions took place in the Living Well Centre at our Erdington site. The first of the seven sessions was focused on collaborating with the women to construct the group framework, to ensure the themes were in line with what the members themselves felt would empower and support them.
The sessions that followed focused on understanding grief, challenges within grief and continuing bonds. There was space to express thoughts and feelings both verbally and creatively using Art Therapy, Mindfulness in Nature and drumming.
Chris added: “The outcomes for the group were very positive, with the women feeling that it had helped them progress with their own individual grief process. Most importantly, we learned from them what worked well and where we can improve our future group work. We will all meet in May to review and ensure they are sustaining that change and enhanced well-being.
“Being part of this group; honouring the women who had sadly died and working alongside their daughters who had experienced great loss was very moving and such a privilege for both of us.”
