Experiential exercises in palliative care training

Death education research has traditionally focused on the relative effectiveness of experiential versus didactic methods. Although experiential methods have been shown to be more effective at lowering death anxiety, little account has been taken of the distress that many people experience as a result of undertaking this kind of training. This article describes an investigation of the reactions of participants on a palliative care training course which included a day of experiential sessions. It was found that experiential training produced both positive outcomes, in terms of staff attitudes and clinical practice, and negative outcomes, in terms of emotional distress and anxiety experienced by participants. On balance, the positive aspects of this experiential training suggest that the gains do justify the means. Suggestions are therefore made for potential safeguards to minimise any adverse effects.