The Arts Therapies in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: Insights from a Cross-Cultural Knowledge Exchange Forum

Abstract

In October 2023, a Knowledge Exchange Forum was established, bringing together arts therapies staff and students from three different palliative and end-of-life care (PEoLC) settings: St Columba’s Hospice Care in Edinburgh, the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital in New York. Adopting a practice-led approach, the Forum offers a space to unpack questions and challenges that arts therapists face in PEoLC. In this dialogical paper, we outline the development of the Forum and share emerging insights from our cross-cultural discussions. When working in PEoLC settings, arts therapists are commonly required to work across a continuum of care. This continuum extends from individual sessions with patients, families and bereaved carers, to groups and community-oriented initiatives. It often requires a capacity to work flexibly and fluidly with regard to, for example, therapeutic boundaries, consistency of location, and time. Discussion of emerging insights leads to a consideration of their implications for education and practice, and for future directions in professional networking and knowledge exchange.