About Penthos
Penthos is an established mental health charity that provides a specialist therapy program to couples who are struggling with grief following the death of a child or young adult.
The loss may be the result of a loss of pregnancy, stillbirth, or the death of a child or young adult through illness, accident, or suicide.
Penthos understands the emotional impact of such traumatic losses which at times may feel unbearable and can severely stress relationships. The loss of a child or pregnancy represents a crisis for a couple and may impact their relationship. In the ensuing months, many couples begin to emerge from this crisis and grief, but in some couples, things seem to get worse and their relationship suffers. This is an indication of unresolved grief.
What is the program?
The Penthos Program provides a private and comfortable space for the couple to explore and work through the painful feelings involved in losing a child or a pregnancy.
Couples attend a confidential 50-minute session once a week for 16 weeks, at a time agreed upon between them and the therapist.
The sessions are provided by specially trained and experienced mental health professionals (psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers and couple therapists) in their consulting rooms or via video call for those who cannot easily access the rooms. If using video call, the couple must be together using the same video device and be in a quiet private room.
Is there a fee?
There is no charge for therapy as the Penthos Program is fully funded by private donors who understand the real impact of grief on couples and families.
Eligibility
The program is available to couples who have lost a pregnancy, experienced unsuccessful IVF, a miscarriage, medical termination or stillbirth.
It is also available to couples who have lost a child at any age as a result of perinatal complications, illness, suicide, or accident, and whose relationship seems to be deteriorating after the loss.
If you would like to discuss your eligibility further or set up an appointment you can do this through our contact us page
Requirements
Couples are required to complete and return the Penthos consent and intake forms along with exit and three-month follow-up questionnaires.
This information will be de-identified in accordance with our The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). The data will be used as a basis for future funding applications and to continuously improve the quality of our program.