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Head and neck cancer (HNC) is associated with substantial psychosocial burden and elevated risk of suicidal ideation. This is often directly linked to treatment related changes in appearance, communication, identity, and social participation. Despite increasing recognition of the need for psychosocial interventions within oncology, there is currently limited evidence to guide the use of art therapy for individuals with HNC who experience suicidality.

This poster presents an early-stage, practice-based PhD project combining intervention development with parallel arts-based research exploring the contribution of art therapy in this context. The primary research strand focuses on the development and pilot evaluation of an evidence-informed art therapy intervention for people living with HNC. It is informed by stakeholder engagement through patient and public involvement, qualitative exploration of lived experience, and a systematic review examining art therapy interventions for people with cancer, undertaken at a cancer-wide level due to the limited HNC-specific literature.

Running alongside this, a second strand adopts a reflexive, arts-based research approach in which creative practice responds and reflects upon emerging clinical and research insights. Through sustained art-making, a body of artwork will be produced that engages with themes relevant to suicidality and HNC, with the intention of exhibiting this work publicly to extend dialogue beyond clinical settings.

Together, these strands aim to contribute to both clinical practice and public understanding by supporting the development of a context-sensitive art therapy intervention while demonstrating the role of arts-based research in addressing complex psychosocial experiences in cancer care.