The added special touches

At the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care Residence, we address the physical symptoms and the emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual needs of the patients and their families.


In addition to our physicians and nurses, our interdisciplinary team includes social workers and art and music therapists who provide professional support and comfort throughout the patient’s time with us. 


Our priority is to ensure our patients are treated with respect and dignity while using a whole-person care approach.

The power of music and art

Through the relief, beauty and peacefulness they bring, art and music are important ways in which we support patients and families during their time at the Residence.

Art therapy

Art therapy uses the creative process to facilitate self-exploration and understanding. The opportunity to talk while using diverse art-making interventions allows thoughts and feelings to be expressed that would otherwise be difficult to articulate.

 
Our art therapist works directly with patients in the art studio, by the bedside, and often in our gardens, as nature also provides opportunities for healing. Art therapy is also available to family members, including children.
 
Among the wide range of ways we use art at the Residence is the creation of legacy projects such as hand casting, developing a video, writing a story, or a book. Nature and the garden as a metaphor is another therapeutic tool utilized in art therapy. These are just some examples of how art is used to provide comfort and create lasting memories.

Music therapy

Music therapy can help to lessen feelings of isolation and loneliness by providing opportunities for social interaction and the sharing of personal experiences with others. Using song and musical instruments, music therapy can allow patients to reminisce and to make new memories with their loved ones. Music has also been found to have a significant impact on reducing the perception of physical pain and can facilitate relaxation and alleviate anxiety. 

 

Our music therapist can offer sessions individually or in a group setting with family, friends or other patients, and at the bedside with portable instruments and sound equipment. The music used, created and shared by a loved one can become an integral part of that person’s legacy and provide a source of comfort to the family.
 
One patient wrote a song for her grandchildren. Her family has graciously allowed us to share her song with you, performed by our music therapist Dan Goldman.
 
Click here to listen: Slow Down

Everyone’s life deserves to be extraordinary until the end

Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person.