Bass Center Psychosocial Service

The Bass Center Psychosocial Service is here to support patients and families going through one of the most stressful and difficult periods of their lives. Caring for children with cancer or a blood disease involves caring not only for their medical needs, but also for their emotional needs. We help children and families cope, adjust, and thrive during this very stressful time.

If your child is new to the Bass Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, a member of our team will meet and get to know your child and family. We will assess their coping and identify any mental health needs. That same person will be your family’s support as needed throughout treatment, whether your child is staying in the hospital or is visiting the outpatient clinic.

For current patients, your child’s care team will refer your child to our team for an initial meeting and continued support, as needed.

The program is based on the 15 Psychosocial Standards of Care for Pediatric Oncology Patients and Their Families, which is considered the gold standard of research-based psychosocial care for children with cancer and blood diseases. Research is also built into the program to make sure that we are providing the most up-to-date, effective care to patients and families.

What to expect

As a new patient to the Bass Center or a new patient to our program, your child and family will meet with a member of our team to better understand how we can help. In this first meeting, we will do the following:

• Introduce ourselves and explain our role on the treatment team.
• Get to know you, your family, and your child’s history and current needs.
• Determine whether your child or family would benefit from regular meetings with our team.
• Make sure you know how to reach us whenever anything comes up.

After this initial meeting, your family will now have a consistent person to contact in our program so that no matter what happens during your child’s treatment, you have someone to support you and your child whenever you need it. These sessions can take place wherever it is most convenient for your family. We can meet you at bedside at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford if your child is an inpatient, at the Bass Center clinic during routine outpatient visits, or via telehealth. Many families opt for a combination depending on their current treatment schedule and enjoy the flexibility that the telehealth option provides, as it minimizes travel and allows for sessions on days when kids are feeling good.

We support children and their families throughout their treatment journey and beyond, as patients transition to long-term survivorship care.

How we can help

We can help your child and family work through many issues:

• Coping with and adjusting to your child’s illness, treatment, and side effects.
• Coping with the anxiety and uncertainty inherent in a serious medical diagnosis.
• Learning how to talk to siblings, friends, or classmates about your child’s illness.
• Being an effective parent to a sick child, including setting appropriate limits.
• Promoting healthy sleep routines and social engagement during treatment.
• Managing existing or new feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges.

As we get to know your child and your family, we will work to address your family’s unique mental health needs and concerns in order to help you and your child thrive.