• Wen Phei Lim, Roxanne Jia Yu Chew, and Clare O'Callaghan.
• Department of Medical Psychiatry, Woodlands Health, Singapore, Singapore.
• Palliat Med. 2024 Jul 1; 38 (7): 737745737-745.

BackgroundPatients receiving palliative care often face psychological distress, which can be challenging for clinicians to manage. Therefore, reflexive and visual journaling can be used as powerful techniques for clinician selfreflection and personal development. These journals are a form of practice wisdom, providing insights into psychological health in palliative care.AimThis study aims to describe how patients receiving palliative care experience psychological health, explore the meaning of a palliative care clinician's work and contribute to the understanding of psychological health in palliative care through the reflexive and visual journals of clinicians.DesignUsing Gibb's reflective cycle as a framework for journaling, this study employs reflexive and visual journaling through the lenses of a psychiatrist and an art therapist. Journal data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach.Setting/ParticipantsThe two first authors journaled 107 clinical encounters and created 36 pieces of response art detailing encounters with patients and their families, and clinical conversations in two palliative care centres.ResultsPatient attributes and the clinical environment were observed to influence psychological health in palliative care. The patient's ability to navigate dying, maintain personhood, exert resilience and experience satisfying relationships contribute to psychological health. A clinical environment comprising clinicians with holistic competencies, systems promoting interdisciplinary collaborations and a values-based culture that promotes patient centricity strengthens the delivery of psychological care.ConclusionsGood psychological health in palliative care extends beyond psychopathology and is influenced by the cardinal elements of being human, value systems and systemic elements in the therapeutic environment.

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