1. Enacting Embodied Memory Theater in an Intuitive Inquiry Study of Therapeutic Space for the Dying.
- Author
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Kelly, Deborah
- Subjects
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PALLIATIVE treatment , *TERMINAL care , *DRAMA therapy , *TEAMS in the workplace , *THEATER , *SPACE environment , *MEMORY - Abstract
This article draws on a study of palliative care group work, developed by the researcher and inspired by the Asklepian healing temples in Ancient Greece (Kelly, 2017). Using intuitive inquiry, which incorporates hermeneutic, heuristic, and transpersonal elements, this study explores the nature of the therapeutic space in palliative care groups that work in and with nature, using imagery, ritual, and bodywork. From archival material and interview data, five final lenses emerged that were considered integral to creating a healing space and environment, and which were inherently interconnected. Separated only for the clarity of discussion, these themes were named as pilgrimage, place, nature, imagination, and presence. This article highlights the resonance between the intuitive inquiry and the research topic, which utilizes imagery, bodywork, and ritual as ways of knowing and experiencing the world. In particular, the discussion incorporates the embodied use of a memory theater as a vehicle for exploration and insight and Marie Angelo's (2005) invitation to allow images to speak in research. This approach offers an opportunity to develop a broader, deeper, more expansive exploration, with embodied imagination an integral part of the process. Intuitive inquiry's five iterative cycles provided a rigorous framework, which engendered a deeper understanding of the researcher's practice in end-of-life care, with implications for practice and education, and contributed to the exploration of creative and embodied experiences as authentic and legitimate ways of knowing in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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