Sharing stories for wellbeing - the role of life story work in palliative care

Storytelling in palliative care has provided a valuable opportunity for people at the end of their life to reflect and to reconnect to their sense of self-identity. Not only this, but it can have benefits in terms of wellbeing, enjoyment and quality of life. In 2011, Sharing Stories for Wellbeing (SS4WB) was established, running storytelling workshops for people in palliative care. Small groups share their life stories using themes as topic guides and are facilitated by experienced session leads and hospice staff. A mixed methods evaluation was undertaken to understand the potential value of participating in SS4WB, using participant observations (n=2), face-to-face interviews with hospice staff (n=3), family members (n=1) and participants (n=3). The themes of ‘pleasure’; ‘what makes you you’; ‘more than just a patient’; ‘benefits beyond the group’ emerged from the data. Participants reported feeling in control of the stories they shared, and feeling enjoyment during the sessions. There was a sense that they were being valued as people, and had an opportunity for social engagement, providing a feeling of being together as a group and sense of reduced isolation. Being able to share life stories led to improved confidence and self-esteem. SS4WB was shown as a way to support people in palliative care and provide an opportunity to reflect on their lives in a way which improved their resilience through autonomy, being valued as an individual and improved sense of self. Storytelling and story sharing were shown as ways to support resilience and self-care.