Music Therapy in Palliative Care

“By stimulating creative participation through familiar music, the patient’s senses of self-worth and purpose are enhanced. Stimulating creative participation through familiar music provides them with an incentive and motivation to actively live while dying” (Aldridge, 1999, p. 17).

                                                                    


Music can be put in the same category as religion or meditation,  experiencing a spiritual being and finding peace with one’s self.Working with a patient in a creative way can enhance the quality of living, but can also make sense of dying. Music in death can help to give hope to the individual and  give them a sense of purpose. The musician or therapist uses music to bond with the patient on a creative intimate level. Music therapy is about finding acceptance and preparing to die.

Music helps to relive favourite memory’s, most of us can link a favourite song to a certain time in our life. Through listening to songs, one can know what is important in their life which can lead onto reminiscing about ones life on what they have  achieved or not achieved.

According to Hilliard (2005) reasons for music in palliative care could include:

·         Coping difficulties

·         Social (isolation, loneliness, boredom, stress)

·         Emotional (depression, withdrawal, anxiety, anger, fear, frustration. Difficulty expressing thoughts, feelings, needs and desires)

·         Cognitive (neurological impairments, disorientation, confusion)

·         Physical (pain, nausea, shortness of breath)

·         Spiritual (lack of spiritual connection)

·         Cultural language barriers.

·         Provides comfort, relaxation and support to cope with the difficult path ahead.

Music and song choice is used with patients who may not be able to express emotions verbally due to neurological difficulties or choose to keep these feelings from others. Music is used as a tool to provide a creative means to express their emotions. One can pick a song that expresses the mood he/she is in or wants to feel. The lyrics and the instruments used can be played to express to family, friends or the therapist what the patient is feeling if they are unable to do so themselves verbally. Songs can also be chosen because they offer comfort or past memories that one has experienced.

Music has been a part of ones life the whole time even if they don’t recognise it. The music one listens/plays to can reflect what life stage they are in, the sort of person they are, their behaviours and who they want to be.

 References

Aldridge, D. (1999). Music Therapy in Palliative Care: New Voices. Great Britain: Jessica Kingsley   publishers.

Hilliard, R.E. (2005). Music Therapy in Hospice and Palliative Care: a Review of the Empirical Data. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2 (2), 173-178. Doi: 10.1093/ecam/neh076.

The New York Times. (2011). Relaxing, touching the memory, music helps with the final transition. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/04/nyregion/music-therapy-helps-the-dying.html?_r=1