Music Therapy
Amazing Grace - How Music Therapy Enhances Quality of Life
When you hear a song from long ago, you can't help but think back to the time in your life when you heard that music. Patriotic songs touch the hearts of veterans, popular music from your youth stirs happy memories and old hymns take you back to Sundays at home.
While music can bring back memories and entertain, professional music therapy is designed to provide important therapeutic benefits to Altercare residents.
As part of a companywide focus on providing innovative programming that provides the highest quality of life for residents, Altercare of Ohio, Inc. has been very proactive in incorporating music therapy services to enhance rehabilitation programs and Alzheimer's and dementia care, and to create a positive, nurturing environment at each location.
Music therapy designed specifically for geriatric residents is a holistic way to address both the physical and spiritual needs of older adults.
Music therapy is part of the formal assessment process when the clinical team develops rehabilitation care programs. Music therapy can be used to maintain and improve levels of physical and cognitive functioning and to help with depression and pain management.
The discipline of music therapy (MT) was established in 1950, and in 2009, nearly a million people received MT services in hospitals, long-term care facilities, hospices and schools. The American Music Therapy Association defines music therapy as "the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program."
Music therapists work with physical therapists to create exercise and music rehabilitation programs which help with balance and endurance, and speech therapists use music therapy to encourage progress in communication for stroke rehabilitation patients.
Music therapy is provided for both groups and individuals on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. Group sessions provide relaxation and comfort and help boost social interaction for people who are not engaging with others or are depressed. Individual therapy often involves songwriting for self-expression and playing instruments to teach new skills.
Alzheimer's/Dementia Residents Benefit from Music Therapy
There are eight locations with special care programs for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and music therapy is especially valuable for these residents. Music memory is preserved better than verbal memory, because music, unlike language, is not seated in a specific area of the brain but is processed across many parts, and it might be one of the last things people connect to.
The music therapy goal for Alzheimer's and dementia residents is to maintain their levels of physical functioning, cognitive abilities and emotional well-being through creative movement, listening and conversation. A decrease in anxiety and an increase in attention span is one major benefit of these programs.
For people with Alzheimer's and other dementias, this holistic, non-pharmaceutical therapy gives people back some of their "self" and allows them to experience calm and positive connections with others. For Alzheimer's caregivers, it provides a way to reach their loved one.
There are many success stories from each location about the positive benefits of music therapy, as well as some interesting uses of this program. Some examples include bell choirs organized by Altercare of Alliance Center, Altercare of Hartville Center, Altercare of Louisville Center and Majora Lane Center, and how a resident at Altercare of Navarre Center worked with the music therapist to write a song and record a CD.
To learn more about the music therapy program offered at a location near you, visit Locations.