You’ll discover how children can use the familiar, creative world of Minecraft to:
Express grief and difficult emotions in symbolic, playful ways
Build memorials and safe spaces that honour loved ones
Connect with practitioners in meaningful activities
Communicate feelings and ideas that may be hard to express in words
Meet the speakers
Cliona Snow
Counsellor | KEMP Hospice
Jenni Luke
Children’s Team Lead | Primrose Hospice
Ellie Finch
Child and Family Counsellor, Director | PlayMode Academy
KEMP Hospice and Primrose Hospice have been using Minecraft in their children's counselling services...
In their own words...
"As a KEMP counsellor working with children and young people, I’m always seeking that crucial in; a way to truly connect, understand, and step into their world… One such tool which has opened a new opportunity to connect with younger clients is Minecraft."
KEMP Hospice
"The team were blown away by what a child could express and explore within the Minecraft world. It allowed them to engage without pressure, connect with the therapist, and feel a sense of control over their story."
Primrose Hospice
"As a KEMP counsellor working with children and young people, I’m always seeking that crucial in; a way to truly connect, understand, and step into their world… One such tool which has opened a new opportunity to connect with younger clients is Minecraft."
KEMP Hospice
"The team were blown away by what a child could express and explore within the Minecraft world. It allowed them to engage without pressure, connect with the therapist, and feel a sense of control over their story."
Primrose Hospice
About this event
This free webinar is designed especially for counselling staff in hospices, and is also open to practitioners in charities, schools, community services, or any setting offering bereavement support. Why this matters: Counselling staff working with bereaved children, whether in hospices or beyond, often find that traditional therapies aren’t always accessible or effective. Minecraft offers a safe, creative alternative where children can lead, feel understood, and work through their grief on their own terms. Two hospice teams in the UK, KEMP Hospice and Primrose Hospice, have integrated Minecraft into their practices with impressive outcomes. Cliona Snow from KEMP Hospice and Jenni Luke from Primrose Hospice will join Ellie Finch to share their experiences of using Minecraft in their services. KEMP Hospice's work using Minecraft has featured on the Minecraft Education blog, awarded Best Research Poster at the 2024 Hospice UK Conference, and published in the British Medical Journal: Supportive & Palliative Care. Primrose Hospice shared their journey in their article 'Digging into Therapy', describing how the team embraced Minecraft in both one-to-one and in group sessions, and the positive feedback from children and families who took part. Together, these service examples highlight how Minecraft can sit alongside traditional therapy to make counselling more accessible, child-led, and meaningful across hospice and wider bereavement contexts. Who is it for? • Counsellors, family support workers, and bereavement staff in hospices • Practitioners in charities, schools, or community services working with bereaved children and young people What you’ll gain: • A clear introduction to the therapeutic potential of Minecraft • Practical insights into using Minecraft safely and ethically • Time to ask the speakers any questions about integrating this approach into your own work Important to note • This is an introductory session. The content will be similar to other introductory webinars Ellie Finch has delivered, so if you’ve already attended one, the material will feel familiar. • For those who want to go further, PlayMode Academy offers a structured training programme (Level 1 and Level 2 in Using Minecraft as a Therapeutic Tool) which builds on the introduction and equips practitioners to integrate Minecraft more fully and confidently into their practice.
About Jenni Luke
Jenni Luke, Children’s Team Lead at Primrose Hospice; where she has been working for the last 12 years. Jenni leads a team who offer support to children 5-18 years before and after a bereavement. Bereavement support can be offered for any bereavement both anticipated and sudden. Support is child led and often creative and is a mixture of one to one and group work.
About Cliona Snow
Cliona, MBACP (Accred.), is an adult, children and young peoples trained counsellor, working at KEMP Hospice, providing support for those who are bereaved or facing their own death or that of a family member. She works with a mostly person-centred approach but also works integratively with CYP as it meets them where they are at, in terms of their developmental age and stage. Her work takes her from the hospice and their dedicated counselling suites to schools within the district, offering a safe, therapeutic space for clients to explore their grief journey.
About Ellie Finch
Ellie Finch, MA, MBACP (Accred), is a clinical supervisor, social worker, and counsellor specialising in working with neurodivergent clients and parents of children with disabilities or complex medical needs. She is the founder of PlayMode Academy, a social impact organisation offering training and consultancy to health and social care practitioners on integrating digital tools into therapy, including video games like Minecraft.
Register for your free place today
Discover a unique way to engage children and young people.
Explore the therapeutic potential of Minecraft.