KIRKWOOD Hospice is going all artistic again.

A six-week course in creative writing and arts, called Express Yourself, is being launched soon.

The artist in residence at the Dalton hospice, Alex Krysinski, is the driving force behind the course.

She said: "Express Yourself is designed to help our patients and carers express their feelings and to relax, through artistic creativity and meditation.

"It's a six-week course which we do four times a year, in which people meditate, write and paint in watercolours and oil.

"In the past, many people have continued to paint or write after the course has finished."

The course is open to all patients and carers, regardless of physical or artistic ability.

Feedback from the course has shown it has helped patients and their families cope with their feelings.

The next course begins on Monday, February 13.

Staff at the Albany Road hospice also run drop-in days all year round, both at Dalton and at the Elmwood Health Centre, which is in the grounds of the Holme Valley Memorial Hospital in Holmfirth.

Ruth Bower is the hospice's support and therapy staff nurse.

She said: "The drop-in days are for anyone who has been affected in anyway by a life-threatening illness, including patients, carers and family members.

"We offer help and support to those who need it, particularly in coming to terms with a diagnosis and coping with the effects of treatment.

"We also offer complementary therapies and treatments."

The drop-in days have been running for five years and Ruth said staff could handle many more visitors, particularly in Holmfirth.

She urges people who are affected by life-threatening conditions not to suffer alone and take advantage of the support offered.

Later this year, the hospice is running another course, Next Steps.

This is aimed at those people and their families who are coping with a recent diagnosis of a life-threatening illness.

Ruth said: "Next Steps is an educational and support programme to help patients and families come to terms with and adjust to living with a condition in the first six months after a diagnosis."

The Next Steps course will run from April 3 to May 8.

Anyone who thinks they may benefit from any of the support programmes at Kirkwood should phone 01484 557900.