Palliative care is dedicated to ensuring that patients experience physical, spiritual and emotional ease as death approaches; bereavement care supports those who are left with the difficult task of coping after the death. The arts offer a powerful medium of assisting people to achieve understanding and peace of mind. The arts offer a means through which people can reflect on memories, hopes, fears and anxieties, and gently explore the emotional, spiritual, and psychological issues that aid a full understanding of themselves and their conditions. At the same time, they can serve as a way to communicate difficult and complex feelings to professionals or family members which cannot always be articulated in everyday conversation. This introductory book outlines a range of successful programmes that have been pioneered by artists, writers, nurses, musicians, therapists, social workers, and chaplains in palliative care settings, and range from simple painting and writing activities to organized communal activities like the writing and performing of a play.
Dying, Bereavement and the Healing Arts offers valuable insights and inspiration for any practitioner working in a palliative care setting.