About Keystone Hospice's Creative Arts Therapies Program


"Heartworks" Gallery Kavi & Yash Making Music with Michael Keystone Kids Camp Music Adds Life to the Party Music to Soothe the Spirit Sydney's Song "Here's to Life" "Alleluia" A Dancer's Renaissance Kavi & Yash Sydney's Song Keystone Kids Camp Artist Trading Cards A Blessing For Marybeth Charlie's Chair Lasting Impressions John's Art Legacy Anna's Bracelets A Caregiver's Collage Keystone Kids Camp	Keystone Hospice's Creative Arts Therapies Program Keystone Hospice, an independent, not-for-profit agency serving patients and families throughout greater Philadelphia, was founded in 1995 out of a commitment to be true to the holistic hospice model as conceived by Dame Cecily Saunders. Keystone is a pioneer in integrating music and therapeutic arts into clinical pain management. These therapies successfully reduce anxiety, pain and restlessness and the relieve stress felt by patients and their family members. Working with the terminally ill, Dame Cecily coined the term “total pain” to refer to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of the distress often felt at the end of life. At Keystone Hospice we enhance the quality of life by caring for “total pain.” We not only treat physical symptoms to keep our patients comfortable, but also provide aesthetic support for self expression, accessing inner strengths through the arts, creating legacies and finding ways to make meaning out of life’s journey – exploring whatever arises out of patients’ imaginations. Soon after our founding, Keystone became one of the first hospices in the nation to employ a music therapy to assist with pain management and emotional healing. “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Bertold Auerbach Over the past decade, Keystone has developed a comprehensive creative arts therapies program that includes credentialed therapists in music, art, and dance movement. We have three therapists on staff, Creative Arts Therapies Interns and volunteer professional musicians from the Greater Philadelphia community. The integration of a fully articulated Creative Arts Therapies program has allowed Keystone Hospice’s team of professional caregivers to work fully within the holistic biopsychosocial model of hospice’s palliative care, which parallels current healthcare trends. Some benefits Creative Arts Therapies bring to hospice care include: Aiding in facilitating expression and exploring emotional, psychological and spiritual issues, Helping manage pain, anxiety and stress, especially through music therapy, Decreasing the sense of isolation and depression people may feel as they face the end of life, Enhancing quality of life by offering patients an enjoyable escape, a place to just be themselves, to be heard, and to be creative, Assisting in the creation of rituals, memorials and legacy songs or artwork. For more information about Keystone Hospice, please link to www.keystonecare.com/aboutus
		Laura Thomae, MT-BC Keystone Hospice Creative Arts & Complementary Therapies Program Director “ In a culture that dismisses and avoids the reality of death, my experience as a music therapist has taught me that the end of life is a sacred time, full of mystery and potential for transformation. I feel privileged to be able to accompany patients during their transition to what lies beyond. I am deeply moved each time I witness the healing into death that is possible at end of life. I am very proud of our talented team and the work that they do.”
		Dana Rummery Keystone Hospice Art Therapist “ As the art therapist at Keystone I have had the opportunity to be with so many amazing people at the end of their lives. Through the art process I have seen them share color, tears, and laughter with their loved ones. From a woman dying of ALS who realized she could still paint to an elderly man giving his seven children his art works and a poem expressing his pride and love for them before he died — I have been honored to bear witness to their creative spirits. I chose to work at Keystone because its vision matches mine, to attend to the whole person and their family with creativity and compassion.”
		Esther Schultz Keystone Hospice Dance/Movement Therapist “ With his eyes gently shut, his open hand circled his face then lightly floated down resting on his chest in closed fist. Softly opening his eyes he explained the significance of the gestures. The open hand represented holism and the fist on his chest symbolized his heart. Reflecting on this experience he commented, ‘I think to be whole is to have my heart and mind match. I have come to this place from a very long journey.’ Dance/movement therapy invites individuals and families to use movement, metaphor and imagery as an avenue for expression when words are not enough. I am deeply honored to join this process, witnessing the depth of how movement can unite body, mind and heart to enhance quality of life, self-expression and relaxation.”
		Creative Arts Therapy Interns Keystone Hospice is a therapist training site and has had interns with Arcadia University, Temple University, and Drexel University. Volunteer Support In coordination with the creative arts therapy program, community musicians and artists often volunteer their talents to benefit hospice patients.