Making something from the heart: art therapy in hospice care

Much of my work happens in a setting people don’t always associate with making art: hospice care. Alongside this private practice, I serve as an art therapist with Harbor Hospice, supporting patients and families through the end of life.

It is some of the most meaningful work I do.

When words run out, the page can still hold something

At the end of life there is often so much to feel and so little language for it. Art therapy offers another way through. With nothing more than pencils, paint, or clay, a person can express thoughts and feelings that are hard — sometimes impossible — to put into words, and find a quiet kind of peace in the process.

No artistic skill is needed. None at all. The point was never the finished piece; it’s what the making opens up.

Something lasting to leave behind

A lot of the work is about legacy — creating something that stays. Patients make hand-sized paintings and birdhouses that become lasting treasures for the people they love. Sometimes a patient simply describes a memory or a moment, and together we bring that image to life on the page, so it can be held onto long after.

There is real joy and peace in the simple act of making something that comes from the heart.

The same belief, wherever I’m working

Whether it’s bedside in hospice, with a young person finding their footing, or in a session here on the lakeshore, the belief underneath it is the same: healing and creative expression belong side by side, and everyone deserves a way to be heard.

You can read more about the hospice program at Harbor Hospice’s art therapy page. And if art therapy is something you’re curious about for yourself or someone you love, I’d be glad to talk it through with you.