Art therapy in palliative care: A qualitative study

Background. Complementary therapies such as relaxation and music therapy have demonstrated efficacy in the management of symptoms and improved quality of life for patients with advanced cancer. Art therapy allows patients to use the creative process to express their concerns and feelings. Objective. We used a qualitative study to assess the impact of art therapy sessions on pain and other symptoms presented by patients with advanced cancer patients in a palliative care unit (PCU). Materials and methods. Twelve consecutive inpatients were included in this prospective study. We conducted semi-structured interviews to assess patients' perceptions of the impact and value of the intervention on their physical and psychological symptoms. Results. Patients reported that the sessions were relaxing and allowed them to distance their concerns related to their disease. Art therapy allowed them not only to improve and sometimes to restore communication with their families and caregivers, but also had helped to restore a desire to do as well as to be involved in new projects. Conclusion. Art therapy seems to act as a multimodal therapy on physical, cognitive, social and emotional symptoms experienced by palliative care inpatients. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.