Art, Technology, and Emotion: Helping AYAs with Cancer Express What’s Hard to Say — with Niki Smit

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer often experience intense emotions that are difficult to put into words.In this episode, I speak with Niki Smit about how art and technology can create spaces for AYAs to express emotions that are otherwise hard to articulate. We explore how artistic practices can surface fear, uncertainty, anger, and hope — not as something to be fixed, but as something that deserves to be seen and acknowledged.We discuss why emotional expression is still often marginal in healthcare and innovation, and how art can play a meaningful role in AYA cancer care by complementing medical treatment and help improve psychosocial support.

Niki Smit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikismit/

Soulpaint solution: https://www.soulpaint.co/

Dual process of grief: Schut, M. S. H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death studies, 23(3), 197-224.