ABSTRACT
The hospice provides support for siblings of Life-limited children and young people, both on a one-to-one and a group basis. Siblings of Life-limited children may follow their brother or sister along a very long journey. This will involve countless hospital visits and periods of acute illness only for their brother or sister to improve again and be able to return home, but then again becoming very poorly. Bereaved siblings of all ages attend the same group, however, again, siblings may be split into age groups once at the hospice to be able to deliver age-appropriate activities. Bereaved siblings need to be able to express their feelings and have their voices heard. The psychological empowerment that arises when we validate and acknowledge the experiences of children draws on Bandura's concept of self-efficacy. Many studies on siblings of children with a chronic illness indicate that siblings are at risk of negative psychological effects.
