Lily wins Jack Petchey Award
Earlier this month, Lily was given a Jack Petchey Award for the amazing progress she had made in her counselling sessions after her Dad passed away in February. She has donated the £300 she was awarded towards purchasing art materials to be used in family therapy sessions, to help other children like her. Stella Christou tells her story.
Lily was referred to me for counselling support in December 2021.
As this was during lockdown, we arranged to have our sessions online. This worked very well for Lily as she needed to reflect on how to manage her feelings about the changes that she was observing with her dad's health.
She shared that she had been struggling with dad's diagnosis with cancer since she was 11 years old.
Coping with cancer and COVID-19
When the lockdown came she was diligent with observing the strict rules of not mixing as she wanted to keep her dad as safe as possible. Therefore, she missed two years of attending school face to face.
Lily would have online lessons and the school was kind enough to accommodate her needs whilst Lily helped to care for her dad as well as managing, as best she could, with her studies.
Her dad passed away at Saint Francis Hospice in February.
Bereavement and the new normal
In April, Lily requested that I organise face to face counselling sessions, as she was ready to start her sessions again to support her through her bereavement.
Her main difficulty was that she had developed a fear of returning to school. We explored what the legalities are for attending school and that the school was within their rights to request her to start as soon as possible.
This created an anxiety for Lily. Through our work together she had the space to understand that there were a variety of triggers for her as she realised that the idea of returning to school also signified that her dad had passed away. She no longer needed to 'keep him safe'. We worked on the plan her school had offered, to attend school taking small steps , walking in and feeling the building and the atmosphere, going to buy her uniform and trying it on to 'see herself' as a school girl and attending her lessons at an hour at a time.
Although this was a painful process for Lily I felt she has mastered the new routine of facing life again after the long COVID-19 lockdowns and the fact that her dad has now passed away she has found her courage and bravery to step back into a more 'normal' routine.
