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Background & AimsThis creative therapy project raises awareness for the 2013 National Dying Matters Campaign. It's an experimental collaboration between hospice patient and artist Julie Williams, local artist Chantelle Townley, Advance Care Planning Facilitator, Lisa Gallagher and Holistic Therapist Lucy Scriven. Funding was kindly provided by St Helens Council. The artwork collage, entitled‘It's Not Over ‘Til It's Over…’depicts the richness of Julie's life using beautiful photographs, steeped in memories and personal story telling. Safety measures over the five outpatient sessions included: on-going discussion and emotional support, regular ‘time outs’ to reduce impact on lethargy, and positive reflection. The artwork was officially unveiled at a celebration, in essence a living wake, hosted at Willowbrook, attended by family, friends and the local press.ResultsStrengthened interdepartmental working within Willowbrook.Stronger links for partnership working in the local community.Promotion of the value of creative therapies for patients and families.Promotion of the Dying Matters Campaign, and advance care planning within the hospice, locally and nationally.ConclusionThis project has helped to raise awareness for the Dying Matters Campaign; it's also strengthened partnership working within the hospice and with the local community. Through artistic expression Julie was helped to share with the world everything she held dear and has been of great value in connecting positively with meaning in her life. Julie experienced the opportunity to develop her undiscovered artistic potential, and explore new coping strategies by moving away from denial into a place of acceptance. Importantly, through participation with the project, Julie actively engaged in her end of life care planning and inspired others to also engage. She also created a celebratory legacy that will now support her loved ones in their sadness and grief.
Accentuate the positive is an ongoing creative writing project initiated as a response to patients facing challenging issues relating to self-worth as a result of living with a life threatening illness. Patients are offered a quiet private space for one-to-one discussion with the creative therapist in which to explore and identify their thoughts and feelings regarding, spirituality, the impact of their illness on communication, relationships and notions of ‘self’. Common themes arising in these discussions centre around the erosion of autonomy, the changes in personal roles and family dynamics, anger and frustration over the loss of independence and the increase in dependency on others. The role of the creative therapist is to listen and support the patient expressing issues and emotions, and can, with the agreement of the patient, engage the wider multi-professional team with any clinical concerns that may arise during the session. Patients are then invited to identify and connect with positive attributes, acknowledge existing abilities, and affirm strengths and ways of coping. This can sometimes be a difficult process for patients experiencing low mood and anxiety. In these circumstances, the creative therapist may offer observations and reflections that help to establish and list positives on behalf of the patient to get the ball rolling. With a list of positives identified, the patient and the creative therapist may then work together to create a piece of writing celebrating and affirming; what the patient can still do for themselves, their attributes and abilities, important relationships, and what they hold dear. Patients are then encouraged to consider sharing the work produced with fellow patients and families. Patient feedback on the project has been very positive and that the experience has been a valuable opportunity in promoting good communication, and an increase in feelings of self-worth and self-esteem through creative expression.
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