Bek Brown – Spiritual Care Chaplain

For the past 15 years I have worked in education and wellbeing. I have been a Pastoral Care Worker, a Counsellor and Wellbeing Leader in schools and am also a registered teacher. In 2023 I moved into healthcare, and I am currently a Spiritual Care Chaplain at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

After the death of my dad in 2014 and brother in 2020, I became acutely aware of how inadequately we process death and grief within our society. With my background in counselling and wellbeing, I wanted to find ways to normalise our experiences with grief and help support people who are grieving. Since then, I have created a weekend retreat for people who are bereaved and later this year I will be offering a recharge day for people who work in End-of-Life Care. I believe this is such important work and it’s critical that those working in this field are supported.

Claire McKee – Arts Therapist (AThR)

I am passionate about the transformative power of the arts. Working predominantly in the inpatient adult mental health space, now at Flinders Medical Centre, my offerings are creative opportunities for self-expression. Working from a person-centred focus, I act as a guide for the client in their creative journey, using my skills in matching the client to the creative modality or medium for the moment. Exploring all facets of the art making process to facilitate the healing process.

After the heartbreaking sudden deaths of both of my parents 18 years apart, departing relatively young, suffering through these bereavements, has given me the drive to want to support others and bring to light the experience of grief we all have in very varied and different ways.

Having worked in the healthcare setting and observing how much of the work force becomes burned out through a culture of stoicism and assumed resiliency, I really want to see people, in general, but especially healthcare workers in the palliative care space take time for reflective practice and a realisation that we are not robotic and that the cumulative effects of burnout are usually felt once we have pushed through just that bit too long.