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Dance/movement therapy at end of life: a clinical method to enhance quality of life for pediatric palliative care patients and their families
Thesis   Open access

Dance/movement therapy at end of life: a clinical method to enhance quality of life for pediatric palliative care patients and their families

Ambre Nina Bethoux
Master of Arts (M.A.), Drexel University
May 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/D8F374
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Abstract

Dance therapy Palliative treatment Death Pediatrics
The purpose of this study is to develop and implement a dance/movement therapy clinical method to address challenges for palliative care and end of life situations in children with varying terminal illnesses, relating to cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of quality of life, through integration of the patient's caregivers. Relevant literature, research, and past dance/movement therapy sessions with identified patients will be reviewed to help guide and create this method. The literature review includes articles and research about end of life and pediatric palliative care, quality of life, pediatric patients' and families' identified needs, family-centered care, and the impact of creative arts therapies on quality of life, end of life, and family-centered care. The developed clinical method is strength based, relies on micro-assessments that aim at identified mental and social quality of life goals, provides the patient with a multichannel sensory input through utilization of visual, audio, and tactile components, and helps foster the relationship between caregiver and patient. The method provides and integrates different interventions, the Kestenberg Movement Profile rhythms, micro goals, and phrasings that can be used within the sessions. Sessions where the method was implemented are discussed as well as reflections on how the method can be further developed, multicultural considerations, and future research implications. This method shows how dance/movement therapy can have a positive impact on the quality of life of pediatric palliative and end of life patients and their families, as well as how it can help foster and expand relationships between caregiver and patient.

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