The Body Hotel: Dance/Movement Interventions for Employee Wellbeing & Occupational Health

This experiential workshop will provide a space to decompress, transform, and process the conference themes while gaining valuable skills and insights to reflect on your own practice and your work with patients/clients. The Body Hotel is a Wales-based social enterprise offering arts, health, and wellbeing programmes for healthcare professionals and marginalised communities in Wales and internationally. These projects utilise movement-based programmes which have engaged over 200 NHS staff, with a focus on burnout prevention and enhancing workplace relationships.

By sharing the experiences and outcomes of these movement-based programmes, this workshop aims to explore the potential of arts, health, and wellbeing initiatives in supporting well-being and preventing compassion fatigue. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in dynamic and interactive activities that promote wellbeing, decrease burnout, and provide a creative outlet.

The Body Hotel emphasises the importance of reflection, self-care, and connection within the health and social care sector. Whether you are new to movement or have prior experience, all activities will be tailored to individual comfort levels and abilities.

The Body Hotel has run 3 projects across Wales, with current offerings for palliative care staff and allied health professions at the Velindre NHS Trust Cancer Centre in Cardiff. Projects have been funded by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), Arts Council Wales and three health boards, and evaluated by Royal College of Surgeons Ireland and University of South Wales.