KARITANE RESIDENTIAL UNIT
This research project was designed to clarify the emotional impact of working at the Karitane RU and evaluate how arts-based professional development can enhance emotional awareness, wellbeing, and quality of clinical care.
Recalibrating Through Art: How Nurses at Karitane Residential Unit Process Emotions
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The Emotional Landscape of Caregiving
At the Karitane Residential Unit (RU), emotions are core to the job—from exhausted parents seeking help with their newborns to the dedicated child and family health nurses and midwives (CFHN/Ms) who support them. As one nurse explained, "It's not a job that you can come to and be task-oriented... you're putting your emotions into work, because, you know, we're human."
Our research revealed a complex emotional environment characterized by:
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Emotional overload from intense caregiving demands
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Deep connections formed with vulnerable families
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Emotional contagion between parents and healthcare providers
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Time pressure competing with emotional needs
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Experience making a difference in managing emotional challenges
The Body Mapping Approach
To address these challenges, we developed an innovative arts-based professional development program centered around body mapping—a well-researched tool for raising awareness and increasing biofeedback.
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a composited body map of all the nurses recordings
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The process included:
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Tracing participants' body outlines
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Photographing and printing these outlines
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Using the outlines as recording spaces for emotional experiences
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Conducting body scan meditations at the beginning of sessions
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Documenting feelings before and after each session
Transformative Results
The impact of this arts-based approach was profound and multi-dimensional:
"When I was on an afternoon shift, I thought that it was a really lovely way to start the shift, because you'd come in at handover, you kind of process it for a little bit, then you'd go kind of set it aside, 'I'll come back to that', do your art therapy and then get on. And I found that each afternoon shift I had was really calm."
Measurable Improvements
Using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, we documented significant improvements in several areas:
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Noticing bodily sensations
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Reducing distraction from physical discomfort
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Decreasing worry about bodily sensations
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Improving attention regulation
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Enhancing emotional awareness
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Strengthening self-regulation
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Deepening body listening
Lasting Impact
Participants reported that the program:
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"Equipped me to do better work"
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"Helped the clinical team as a whole"
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"Improved my mental state"
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"Enhanced my emotional self-awareness"
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"Led me to make lifestyle changes"
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Created "appreciation of employer"
The Final Creation
The project culminated in a magnetic, interactive body map displayed at the RU for both staff and resident families. This visual representation serves as a reminder of the emotional journey that both caregivers and families experience, providing a touchpoint for continued emotional awareness and processing.
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