Hopewell House’s new Complementary and Therapeutic Services (CATS) team includes volunteers from diverse backgrounds who bring an array of healing gifts to Hopewell House. This team of amazing healers has vast experiences in the spaces of death and dying and are drawn to volunteering at Hopewell. They feel deeply about caring for residents and families knowing that death will one day come to us all. They are delighted to share talents and gifts to pay forward what they have witnessed and experienced, or wish they had, with the people they have loved and cared for. With the knowledge that death and dying can be messy, and not a straightforward journey, they feel blessed to bring our healing gifts to help ease this sacred transition.
Libby Jefferson and Susan Bogdan Coray, co-leaders of the CATS team, look forward to getting to know all who are part of our Hopewell community; residents, staff and volunteers. The CATS team will offer therapeutic expertise in acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, energy work (Reiki and healing touch), massage, music and sound, myofascial release, personal aesthetics, and pet therapy. Hopewell will be graced with music through talented musicians, a music therapist, a thanatologist, and a sound healer who plays Tibetan sound bowls and will offer twice a month sound healings at HH. Certified dog volunteers along with their human partners will bring the loving presence of pets to bedsides. Volunteers with professional experience in personal aesthetics are also part of the CATS team. Possible offerings include hair cutting, styling, and make-up. We will also create an aromatherapy cart which trained volunteers and staff can access as a therapy measure.
Complementary therapies can bring relief and release of physical discomfort and can even play a role in emotional breakthroughs. Memories and trauma may be stored in the body, sometimes as physical restrictions that manifest as pain and decreased mobility. In safe contemplative environments, the body, mind, and spirit can be helped to relax and reset. Complementary therapies may come as gentle hands-on bodywork, music, and sound, or thoughtfully chosen scents and aromas. We will offer our services to all residents who desire them, in collaboration with appropriate orders from their hospice teams.
More information on all these therapies is forthcoming. We’re also excited to announce that a designated Complementary Therapy room is in the works at Hopewell. This beautiful space will allow residents loved ones and staff to find balance and peace by providing treatments such as massage and acupuncture as available by volunteers. Peaceful and practical, this graceful space will also hold our treatment materials.
