Hi Karin, thank you for bringing guided practices into the conversation. I’ve recorded guided practices in Spanish for my patients (mindfulness, self-compassion, somatic tracking, toggling back and forth between difficult sensations and pleasant/neutral sensations, and visualizations), and throughout our work together I’ve shared several with my patient, her family and professional caregivers (we would do them together in session and then I’d share a recording). It’s been hit and miss, to be honest; some days she’s willing to try and practice, most days she isn’t. In general, her motivation to engage with any kind of practice, including breath and movement, is very low. She does like massages, so we’ve brought in a massage therapist to see her twice a week, and her caregivers also regularly offer massages. Among the practices we’ve explored together, visualizations have been the most successful – she has a really hard time tuning into sensations and the self-compassion practices don’t really resonate with her. I like your suggestion to ask her caregivers to offer that option more often, and see how it goes.
Thank you for this, and I’d love to hear more about other practices that have been useful with the hospice/palliative medicine population you work with.