Art therapy project moves forward at the New Children’s Hospital – music therapy reaches new patient groups

In a short time, art therapy has become an integral part of specialized healthcare for children and adolescents. Thanks to an art therapy project made possible by donations, two new music therapists and one visual arts therapist were recruited to HUS units in October 2024 to support family-centered care. 

Art therapy has not only become a local specialty at the New Children’s Hospital, but its methods are also increasingly being utilized elsewhere in Finland: “In Kuopio, art therapy has increased, at least for patients with pain, palliative care patients, and premature babies; in Lahti, there has long been project-funded music therapy, as well as in the Jorvi baby ward,” lists Reetta Keränen, a music therapist at the New Children’s Hospital.

Keränen is delighted that art therapy is expanding to new target groups and different forms. Thanks to the funding project, music therapy has been expanded to include, for example, pediatric neurology, children on the autism spectrum, the neonatal intensive care unit, as well as inpatient child psychiatry and psychiatry for young children. The project has also established therapy groups for children and adolescents with shared conditions, such as diabetes. Keränen considers the integration of music therapy into pediatric palliative care and end-of-life care to be a significant step forward. 

Thanks to the funding project, art therapy is now also being offered at the New Children’s Hospital, and it has been very well received. According to Keränen, a part-time art therapist works at both the New Children’s Hospital and the HUS child psychiatry clinics, and the program has been successfully implemented in the oncology ward, for patients with long-term pain, and for children with long-term illnesses. Dance movement therapy was also part of the project at the beginning, but it has had to be set aside for the time being.

“Something good and normal in the middle of everything”

Music therapist Emma von Weissenberg works closely with the Pediatric Advanced Home Care and makes home visits to families. Von Weissenberg studied music therapy in the United States and is one of two music therapists who began working in October 2024. She reports with satisfaction that, due to high demand, her work percentage was increased from 50% to 80% already during her first year.

Von Weissenberg describes the impact of music therapy in palliative care and end-of-life care not only on the child but also on the quality of life for the entire family: 

“Especially at the stage when care shifts from curative treatment to home care and the family is living through what is often called the ‘final days,’ music therapy can bring something normal and good into the middle of everything. I strive to create moments filled with joy, shared family activities, and a sense of meaning. It’s important that the family can later remember more than just the illness and challenges: that there were also moments when we sang, played, and made music together.” 

Von Weissenberg explains that music therapy provides relief in managing pain and symptoms, promoting relaxation, and facilitating self-expression. 

“Processing issues and emotions can sometimes be more accessible through art than through words. Therapy provides support and a space for self-expression through music,” Von Weissenberg summarizes.

The therapeutic process may also include concrete projects: Von Weissenberg has carried out, together with patients and their families, songwriting projects and “heartbeat” projects, in which the rhythm of a song is created based on the patient’s heartbeat. Songs and recordings created in these projects have later been played at, for example, funerals.

Next, art therapy will be piloted as part of minor procedures and dental care

Keränen explains that the next step in the art therapy project will be to pilot treatment-oriented music listening: the units will be provided with tablets that have music apps pre-installed. The goal is to utilize music’s anxiety- and pain-reducing effects, for example, in the context of minor procedures and dental examinations – not merely as a form of stimulation, but with clear clinical goals. A treatment program aimed at parents of children on the autism spectrum is also getting underway, in which parents learn to use music as a tool for interaction in everyday life at home.

The project will continue until 2027. After that, the continuation of funding remains an open question.

Grateful and enthusiastic about her work, Von Weissenberg has a vision for the future: She hopes that in the future, every palliative care patient will have the opportunity to receive music therapy if they wish. At the same time, she recognizes that this would require broader changes: standardizing palliative care in Finland, increasing the number of music therapists specializing in somatic care, and developing music therapy models best suited to the Finnish context. 

“Music therapy for everyone!” Von Weissenberg sums up enthusiastically.

The New Children’s Hospital’s three-year art therapy project began in 2024 and will continue until 2027. The project is supported by the Olvi-säätiö, Brita Maria Renlunds Minne, and a group of private individuals with a total of 420,000 euros.

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