Children with a life-threatening condition can experience a wide range of difficult emotions due to their treatment, it’s effects, hospital admissions and the isolation from friends and family that this brings. Some children we support are palliative and are facing the end of their life. Brothers and sisters of children with cancer face having their routines changed, their family split up through hospitalisation with some having to stay with relatives, the upheaval taking them away from their usual support networks, carrying with it a lot of worry, feelings of absence and anger at what’s going on for their family unit. Children may be facing the death of their sibling or a parent from cancer or indeed be bereaved and facing considerable loss.

As children and their families come face to face with their situation we are able to offer emotional support through our specialist Therapists, tailored to meet the needs of the children by offering sessions at our centre, at the child’s home, at school or whilst they are in hospital they work within a non-directive, child centred framework. Offering children a vehicle for expression where they are accepted and understood, the therapeutic interventions are designed to be guided by the child, this way happening spontaneously. For younger children Play Therapy provides a way in which children can work through their experiences expressing emotions and gaining understanding through their natural language of play. Older children have access to Play Therapy also find benefit from talking therapy, all aimed at improving emotional development, psychological wellbeing and assisting coping. From diagnosis through every aspect of treatment and beyond,  Play Therapy has a key role to play, currently working throughout South Wales we can signpost to similar services for families outside of this catchment area, around the UK.