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New Bereavement Counselor Rounds Out Yolo Hospice Team

by Mary Odbert

Davis, CA – Yolo Hospice welcomes a new counselor to our team of clinical experts. Joni Beckner joined the Bereavement Services Department in January. In addition to providing services to bereaved adults in the community, Joni will coordinate the Yolo Hospice Children’s Bereavement Program, Stepping Stones.

 “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be at Yolo Hospice and to apply my skills toward helping children and adolescents in this area,” said Joni Beckner. “The bereavement program is strong and growing. I’m looking forward to helping guide Stepping Stones and to providing this resource for children, families and schools in the community.”

Beckner holds a Bachelor of Arts in social work from West Texas A & M and a Master of Arts in art therapy at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana. For the last 7 years, she supported children and teens as a social worker for Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Colorado. There she worked with terminally ill patients, their families and bereaved adults, as she will at Yolo Hospice.

“What was really attractive to us about Joni was her extensive experience with children and young adults,” said Robyn Burris, Bereavement Services Director. “We’re dedicated to providing specialized services to grieving children and teens. We’re confident Stepping Stones is in well-trained hands with Joni.”

The majority of her work has been with bereaved children and teens or those coping with the serious illness of a loved one.  Her experience includes practicing social work at a private psychiatric and behavioral hospital in both acute care and residential treatment with children, adolescents and adults. She has worked for a state mental health agency providing psychosocial rehabilitation to chronically mentally ill adults and in a private residential program providing support for boys. 

“I deeply value the utilization of art therapy in individual counseling and grief support groups,” said Beckner. “I’m looking forward to integrating more of this modality into Yolo Hospice’s programs. Art making and imagery provide expression and reflection for experiences such as the illness or loss of a loved one, for which we have few words.”

 

 

 

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Quotes

Judy Norton
"Coping with terminal illness is all consuming for patient and family. As a hospice nurse, I feel it is most important to advocate, respect and use the knowledge we have to make the end of life the most comfortable it can be while always keeping in mind the unique needs of each patient."
~Jody Norton, RN