Counselling services for patients, family members and caregivers are an important part of supportive care.

In Delta, our counsellors offer support to an individual of any age who has just been diagnosed with cancer or other serious illness, is undergoing treatment or needs to carry on living with his or her illness after treatment. They support and counsel patients and families as they deal with loss, uncertainty, life changes and difficult decisions. They help to plan and coordinate care with other health care team members and offer a number of services following bereavement, including support for sudden or traumatic death.

Services can take a variety of forms, including telephone calls, visits, family meetings, meetings with the care team, relaxation groups, bereavement groups and recommendations on reading material.

Our counselling services extend to individuals, family members, colleagues, school staff or students, community groups and the business community. For people at local businesses, counsellors offer consultation, crisis intervention, on-site support groups and other services. They will support organizations when there has been a death in the workplace, offering staff members an opportunity to share their grief. For sudden, unexpected death, counsellors will provide critical incident debriefing and provide any necessary follow-up.

The counselling staff plays an important role as educators and offer professional and public education on a variety of topics. While there is no fee charged for any of the counselling services, donations are always appreciated.