The Renal Project at Great Ormond Street Hospital
The Renal Project is based at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and serves young people and families attending the haemodialysis unit.
The project, which is about to enter its second year, consists of the development of mentalization-based group sessions serving young people and their parents.
The groups run for 10-12 weeks. During this time, young people are invited to think about the impact that illness has in their capacity to think about their feelings and how they affect their capacity to comply with medical regime.
Moreover, the project seeks to develop interventions and assessment tools that help doctors, nurses and parents to support the emotional needs of young people experiencing end stage renal disease.
The group sessions are semi-structured but lively and seek to adapt to the specialized needs of the haemodialysis unit.
The project is funded by the Rosetrees Trust (formerly the Golden Trust) and is run by Norka Malberg, a child and adolescent psychotherapist working under the supervision of Professor Peter Fonagy, and Jill Hodges, working under the aegis of the Renal Psychosocial Team at GOSH.
As the project enters its second year, it hopes to expand its scope by inviting medical staff to co-lead the groups and integrate parents and siblings into a similar group setting.
For more information contact Norka Malberg at Norka.Malberg@annafreud.org.