Art Therapy at St Joseph’s – Hospice Care Week

At St Joseph’s Hospice, we provide care and support for people and families at every stage of bereavement. This Hospice Care Week, we’re highlighting that hospice care is more than you think, it’s about emotional as well as physical wellbeing. We offer a wide range of counselling and therapy services for adults, children, and families, including:

• Individual Counselling
• Individual Art Therapy
• Art Therapy Group
• Family Counselling
• Couple Counselling

Our Patient and Family Counselling Service supports people who are bereaved, as well as those receiving end-of-life care and their carers. Our Child and Young Person Bereavement Service provides group therapy and one-to-one sessions.

Andy is an Art Therapist working in Child Bereavement at St Joseph’s Hospice. He has worked extensively with both children and adults.

What are the benefits of art therapy in a hospice setting?

“At St Joseph’s, art therapy is always offered alongside talking therapy as part of our holistic approach. It’s available as a tool within sessions for people who find it helpful. Art therapy can be especially valuable for those who struggle to verbalise their feelings or thoughts, this includes children, neurodiverse people, or anyone. Art provides another way to express and explore emotions.

The thing about art is that there’s both a process and a product. In the act of creating, people often discover something about themselves they hadn’t realised. Once that’s acknowledged and shared, the finished piece can be thought about together, or it can simply be left/released. Often, the objects created in therapy embody unconscious or difficult emotions. They can contain and hold those feelings which is cathartic. It can be a way of saying, that was yesterday, and this is now.

Art can also be used symbolically too, for example, as a message to someone who has died, or to someone still living. A child whose father has died might create something to help their mother understand how they’re feeling.”

Is art therapy useful for people experiencing grief or approaching the end of life?

“Absolutely. Art therapy can help people process loss whether they’re grieving someone who has died, or coming to terms with their own end of life. It gives a space for reflection and expression which people find helpful.”

We asked participants in the weekly art therapy group at St Joseph’s to describe the experience:

“The group is a free space to express yourself and there’s lots of trust between the group members. You’re with people experiencing similar problems and they can relate to what you are dealing with. You learn from the others in the group too. We’ve developed friendship over time, people care about you.”

“The Hospice is all about living well, when I come to therapy, it sounds funny but I don’t think about death. You can be yourself. I’m less burdened with my anxiety after the group sessions.”

“Even just having something to get me out of the house and the positive distraction helps me with my mental health so much, and then having a free space to talk and share my worries with others who understand.”

“I never had done art before, I never thought I was an artist. It’s been great to learn something new and express my thoughts in a different way.”

We developed the Elephant Kit to support children and young people coping with bereavement and end of life. The Elephant Kit is a therapeutic toolkit provided free of charge to families with children, related to anyone who is being cared for by St Joseph’s Hospice.

Coming to terms with life limiting illness can be difficult for everyone. It can be especially hard for children to make sense of and talk about what is happening. The Elephant Kit contains creative tools, toys and games, carefully designed to welcome children to the hospice environment, support their emotional health and help families communicate during this difficult time.

Find out more here:
The Elephant Kit

Do you, or someone you know, feel you could benefit from counselling at the hospice? Our team of highly trained and experienced counsellors is here to provide support tailored to the needs of you and your family.

Find out more about bereavement counselling here:
Support, Counselling and Bereavement Services