Irish Hospice Foundation: Skills Exchange in Letterkenny exploring creative practices

Irish Hospice Foundation is hosting two days of skills and information exchange in Letterkenny on 27 January and 9 February for those working with or interested in working with people affected by dying, death, grief and loss, using creative practices.

The Skills Exchange will be informed by three questions:

• How do we best support people receiving bad news or who are bereaved?
• What are the roles for arts and creativity?
• How might this be offered at individual, community and systemic level?

Background 
Irish Hospice Foundation Arts are developing a programme of training and support for people working through creative arts with people impacted by grief and loss.

While small in number, there are a selection of practitioners working in this space in Ireland representing a range of both clinical and creative backgrounds. We recognise there is need for complementary or discreet skills. There is limited understanding, however, of each other’s disciplines, and this is often thought of not as abundance but as competition. This Skills Exchange is a first step in exploring how this diversity of practices can be complementary.

What to expect
The aims of this Information Exchange are to share existing practice and opportunity. These sessions will be informal and discursive, they will cover:

• An introduction to Public Health grief pyramid
• Theories of grief and creative engagement
• Approaches and responses to those in need from separate disciplines
• Health and care systems in Ireland
• Formal and informal provision nationally and locally

Who is this for?
Artists, crafters, cultural practitioners, art therapists (IACAT), expressive therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, health care workers, link workers and anyone with a particular  interest in this area.

By the end of the sessions you should have increased awareness of:

• The discrete disciplines and their strengths
• Where overlapping and complementary areas exist
• How each might benefit an individual patient or group

Register your interest
Register your interest by completing this form before 18 January.

20 places are available. There is no cost for attendance. Catering is provided.

Applicants will be notified on 19 January. Preference will be given to those able to attend both days. Representation will be sought from across a spectrum of practices.

For more information: dominic.campbell@hospicefoundation.ie

Skills Exchange is supported by the HSE National Lottery Grant Scheme, Cancer Care West, Artlink, and Letterkenny Regional Cultural Centre. Irish Hospice Foundation Arts is supported by the Creative Ireland programme. 

www.HospiceFoundation.ie