Who works in these wards
The team of a hospice or vegetative state ward is interdisciplinary by definition: physician, nurse, healthcare assistant, auxiliary, psychologist, physiotherapist, volunteers. To these figures are added the art therapist, the social worker, and the spiritual counselor. The relational dimension is sustained by professionals such as the psychotherapist, the art therapist, and the spiritual counselor, who offer spaces for listening, expression, and emotional support.
The staff in a hospice or vegetative state ward work daily in close contact with patients and their families. There is the physical toll of patient mobilization and long hours of manual care. There is the psychological toll of needing to decipher unexpressed needs, of confronting serious illness and death. These workers develop a unique and profound regard for the other, demonstrating through small gestures a care they often do not extend to themselves.
Integration is not a given
The art therapist’s integration into the team is neither immediate nor free of obstacles. Engaging the professionals is a gradual process, complicated by wariness toward a figure that can be confused with that of an activities coordinator — present in residential care but with different duties and objectives. It is essential to propose a clear and well-structured project to legitimize one’s presence.
Art therapy is not recreational painting nor a conventional psychotherapeutic process: it is an intervention whose efficacy is grounded in the conscious use of art materials and in the containment offered by the art therapist. The healing lies in the creative process itself.
In my case, integration happens through calibrated attentions: a shared coffee, a word of comfort, an embrace, the presentation of an evocative image. It is deeply gratifying to observe how attentive listening can surprise and touch those around us. The team, often overwhelmed by emotional and operational demands, feels seen and recognized not only in their professionalism but in their humanity.
Over time, I adopted a symbolic gesture: the delivery of personal letters at the conclusion of specific projects — a tool for expressing my perspective on each individual, acknowledging and honoring their dedication to the work.
Proposal for the hospice team
The activity focuses on the exploration and recognition of roles, distinguishing between actual and perceived functions, and promoting respect for the work of others. Alongside the ward psychotherapist, I work on aspects such as shift management, the organization of competencies, and the capacity to collaborate while listening to colleagues’ needs.
One of the central objectives is to develop the ability to put oneself in the other’s shoes. Concurrently, an art therapy process is initiated using creative materials to give visual form to the reflections. Each session closes with a moment of sharing, and at the conclusion the group possesses a collective work — a “ward journal” that concretely represents the path and the journey shared together.
Proposal for the vegetative state team
In the vegetative state ward, recently shared with residential care patients, the need to adapt to differing requirements emerges. This proposal involves the ward psychologist and unfolds through four structured sessions. It begins with simple but incisive questions: Who is the new patient? What competencies are required? How do the spaces change? What emotions arise?
Here too an art therapy activity is introduced, using expressive materials to visually represent what the questions stir internally. At the end, the group creates a communal work that symbolizes the process experienced together — a space of awareness and growth that strengthens the team as a unit.
Activities for daily well-being
Beyond the structured pathways, I offer more informal daily activities: textile art therapy, work with colored powders, clay manipulation. They do not have a defined objective but aim to offer a moment of self-care. They are spaces dedicated to “feeling,” where staff can reconnect with their own inner life. They respond to the need, often unexpressed, to grant oneself a moment of slowing down in an environment dominated by urgency and operational demands.
All the proposed activities share a common denominator: the concept of being part of a whole. The team is not simply a collection of individuals with different roles, but an organism that functions in synergy, where cohesion and mutual listening are fundamental tools for the well-being of all.