The Rhythm of Connection: Describing the Heartbeats Intervention for Patients and Families Receiving Paediatric Palliative Care

TL;DR

This paper introduces a music therapy intervention called Heartbeats, which uses recorded heartbeats to provide emotional support and connection for children and families in palliative care.

Contribution

The Heartbeats Intervention is presented as a novel, flexible music therapy approach tailored for paediatric palliative care.

Findings

The Heartbeats Intervention has been well-received by families and is used for therapeutic goals like soothing and legacy creation.

The intervention has expanded to include environmental soundscapes and community involvement, increasing accessibility.

The paper highlights the need for further research on the long-term impact and children's direct experiences with the intervention.

Abstract

Music therapy in paediatric palliative care offers a unique opportunity for emotional support, legacy creation, and therapeutic connection for children and their families. This paper describes the Heartbeats Intervention, as delivered by a paediatric palliative care music therapist at Sydney Children’s Hospital Australia. This intervention involves recording and creatively integrating the heartbeats of children and family members into personalised musical compositions. Originally inspired by music therapist Brian Schreck’s work, the intervention has evolved to meet diverse therapeutic goals, from soothing children with serious illnesses (including cancer) with recordings of their families’ heartbeats to creating legacy song tracks that support families through bereavement. Despite some logistical and resource challenges, the intervention has been well-received and continues to expand, including the integration of environmental soundscapes and broader community involvement, which allows the intervention to be experienced by a greater number of families. This paper contributes to the limited but growing literature on music therapy in paediatric palliative care, highlighting the Heartbeats Intervention as a flexible and meaningful way to enhance psychosocial support and connection for children and their families. Further research to evaluate its long-term impact and to explore children’s direct experiences of the intervention is needed.

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