New counselling service
THE CLAN cancer charity is to introduce a new counseling service in a partnership with the Shetland Bereavment Support Service (SBSS).
One-to-one counseling appointments will be provided free of charge to those who have been bereaved or are dealing with “significant loss or change”.
The free counselling service, which is open to anyone living with cancer including family, carers and friends, during and beyond treatment, will be provided from the SBSS charity’s support and wellbeing centre in Lerwick. It will initially be part of a six-month pilot scheme to gauge how the service needs to develop.
Staffed by trained counsellors from SBSS, it will be available through both appointments and a community outreach capacity – meaning it is accessible for individuals throughout the islands.
CLAN Cancer Support’s services manager Lucy Whiteman said she was delighted to announce details of the new partnership, describing it as “another important development that will provided support an care for those affected by both cancer and bereavement”.
She said: “CLAN is committed to introducing new, valuable services in Shetland and this new partnership with the SBSS will now allow us to provide specialist bereavement counselling from both our centre in Lerwick and throughout the island.
“No one should have to deal with loss, change and grief on their own and I believe that this new, free service will go a long way in helping prevent that from happening. It is open to anyone living with cancer and we’d encourage anyone who thinks they may benefit from the service to come forward and find out more about how we can help.”
SBSS chairman Donald Anderson, which has faced a funding shortfall in the past couple of years, said: “We look forward to working in partnership with CLAN to provide an effective and necessary service of confidential one-to-one listening and counselling support.”
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Ellen Hughson, who provides administrative support, said SBSS wished to thank everyone who has helped it to be in a position to team up with CLAN.
- The new service will start on Monday, April 6. Those interested in making an appointment are asked to contact CLAN in Lerwick on (01595) 720320 or email Shetland@clanhouse.org
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