Art Therapy and Palliative Care

Art Therapy in Palliative Care (M. Pratt and M.Wood, 1988, Routledge Publishers, East Sussex)

• Palliative care is more aimed towards at terminal diseases such as cancer, HIV or motor neurone disease, but dementia is in effect a terminal illness and the aims of the practice are what all people should be considering when caring for people suffering from it. It covers some important points in what I am aiming to argue in the essay; that quality of life is a very (if not the most) important factor to consider when caring for dementia sufferers. 

"Those who could not be cured were regarded as 'medical failures' and little point was seen in taking time to address their needs for adequate pain relief or support in the process of dying." (pg. 13)

"...pain has emotional, psychological and social components as well as physical ones, and in order to adequately care for the patients all aspects of their suffering need to be addressed." (pg. 13)

"The aim of hospice care is to favour quality of life over quantity, but as many working in this area point out increasing the quality for the individual may well result in the increase in it's length also." (pg.13)

"The possibility of depicting something personal which can be changed and developed in a series of images is a very useful part of the therapeutic process, as is the permanence of the artwork, for it allows a continued exploration, reflection and comparison over a number of sessions whereas words can be more easily forgotten or denied." (pg. 2)

"Two organisations which promote the use of arts in healthcare in the UK are Hospital Arts and Hospice Arts. Artists, sculptors, writers, poets and musicians are variously employed, as artists-in-residence, or as project workers providing workshops to encourage patient participation. The creative activities promoted by such arts agencies are aimed at improving the milieu and enhancing the patients quality of life." (pg. 4)