Cancer handbook: Child life and music therapy at Randwick
The Kids Cancer Centre (KCC) at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick provides a child life therapy service to help children and their families through the hospital experience and to minimise the impact of hospitalisation on their lives.
Child life therapy
A Child life therapist is trained in education and child development and aims to include familiar experiences into an otherwise scary or new environment.
This is done through therapeutic play, medical play, procedure education and distraction support.
The child life therapist works with children and adolescents individually as well as in group settings.
Music therapy
Music therapy is the planned and creative use of music to look after a patient's physical and emotional needs. The registered music therapist is a trained professional who uses different techniques to minimise the stress and anxiety that hospitalisation may cause for young patients.
The team creates positive experiences in the healthcare environment to support children to cope better with illness and treatment through the use of play, music, education and self-expression activities.
Child life and music therapists work with your child's doctors to achieve goals together. Both individual and group sessions are provided.