More Than a Placement: My Experience at The Bodie Hodges Foundation

From feeling warmly welcomed on her very first day to supporting bereaved families through some of life's most difficult moments, Fiona reflects on her student placement with The Bodie Hodges Foundation.

When I started looking for a second placement opportunity, The Bodie Hodges Foundation immediately stood out. My supervisor at another placement spoke highly of the charity, praising the support it offers both families and student counsellors, and encouraged me to apply.

Having already completed a significant number of placement hours, I felt ready for a new challenge.

I originally went into counselling because of my own experiences of bereavement, so it felt like the right time to give bereavement counselling a try. Being a mum myself, I was prepared for the work to be challenging and for it to bring up a lot for me, but I had also heard that the Bodie team are a really great bunch of people and very supportive, which reassured me.

a warm welcome

From the moment I stepped through the doors of The Bodie Hodges Foundation, the team made me feel welcome. George was always on hand to help, and nothing ever felt like too much trouble.

I started with two clients and quickly learned how to record notes on the system The Bodie Hodges Foundation uses and how to complete online forms during initial sessions. The team regularly checked in with me after appointments, offering support, answering questions and helping me build my confidence. Whenever George was unavailable, he made sure another member of the team was there to help.

During my student counsellor placement at The Bodie Hodges Foundation, a typical day would start with checking in with the team before welcoming my client and helping them feel at ease. After each bereavement counselling session, I would complete my notes and spend time with the team in the office. The supportive team environment made a huge difference to my placement experience, and there was always someone available for guidance, support or a friendly chat.

more than just a placement

Providing a space for a parent or sibling to grieve in their own way and seeing the benefit of that has been invaluable to me.

The Bodie Hodges Foundation feels like a family and being supported by them has made a big difference to me. Monthly supervision with Nicola and check ins with George have also helped support me in getting to grips with bereavement counselling.

Helping out at the annual Sports Dinner really helped me understand how much support they have and the importance of good fundraising to keep the charity going.

It has definitely helped my confidence and professionally it has taught me a lot about grief and the importance of sitting in that grief with a client, to slow down and allow space instead of bringing in interventions and being directive.

To future students, I would say, don’t be put off by how hard the you might imagine supporting people who have lost a child could be – it feels like such an honour to sit with someone and help them with their grief.