Committing to arts-based palliative and bereavement care: Evaluation of students’ experiences in an online course

Abstract

Surveys show that only 14% of those in need of palliative care actually receive it. The creative arts therapies can respond to this growing need. The current mixed-methods pilot study was part of a larger European Erasmus+ project entitled Death Education for Palliative Psychology that was conducted from 2019 to 2022 in five countries. This report examined the experiences of 20 creative arts therapies master’s degree students in Israel enrolled in an online course on arts-based palliative and bereavement care. The students who completed the course reported a significantly greater commitment to engaging in a career in palliative and bereavement care than students in the control group. The students considered the course important for their training. The curriculum helped them to communicate end-of-life in both personal and professional situations. The arts provided a bridge for processing death-related issues. The students also reported the challenges they encountered during the course and their thoughts for future directions. Overall, these findings point to a field requiring more investigation that is essential to the training of creative arts therapies students and future therapists.