Music is a vital part of most of our lives, regardless of our age. Any Activity Professional in the eldercare setting knows how important music is to monthly programming, and many facilities utilize music in creative, exciting ways, including live performances, karaoke for residents, and themed dance events.
In today’s blog post I want to outline the differences between Music Therapy for older adults and programmatic music, and highlight some of the unique benefits of Music Therapy services.
First thing's first...
What is Programmatic Music?
In an assisted living or nursing home setting, programmatic music may include personalized playlists, live performances, or group sing-alongs designed to promote general well-being.
What is Music Therapy?
Music Therapy is a more personalized and clinical use of music. Music therapy involves using music interventions in a clinical setting. It is an evidence-based practice meaning its results have been studied and shown to work. Music therapy aims to achieve personal goals within a therapeutic relationship led by a certified professional who has graduated from an accredited music therapy program.
What are the differences between programmatic music and Music Therapy?
Who do Music Therapists work with?
1. Music Therapists often facilitate groups in memory care or skilled nursing settings.
Groups may focus on increasing socialization, reducing isolation, improving mood, and increasing communication.
Music has a unique way of bringing people together, regardless of their communication abilities. In a music therapy group, residents who may struggle to connect in other ways can come together and form meaningful bonds. The regular participation in these sessions can also help strengthen their relationships outside of the group.
2. Music Therapists may work 1:1 in a neurological rehabilitation setting.
Many older adults have specific neurological diagnoses, including stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Dementia, or Cerebrovascular Disease. A Neurologic Music Therapist is specifically trained to use music to support brain function. NMT interventions address motor skills, verbal communication, auditory processing, executive functioning, memory, and more.
PS: Most of the staff at Anderson Music Therapy are trained in Neurologic Music Therapy!
3. Music Therapists may work in end-of-life care and hospice.
While end-of-life care is not exclusive to older adults, many hospice patients are older and may live in retirement communities, assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, or in their homes. Music Therapists in the hospice setting use music to facilitate life review, create legacy projects such as writing songs or making mixtapes for loved ones, and use music to address acute pain and provide support during the active dying process. Entrainment is a specific technique a music therapist may use to reduce agitation during episodes of pain or discomfort.
Why Music Therapy?
1. Music Therapy is Goal-Oriented
Music Therapists are trained to use music in order to support many areas of functioning. Whereas a performer focuses primarily on playing a particular song for the listener to enjoy, a music therapist may choose specific aspects of music to prompt different responses from clients. For example, a music therapist may choose songs with lyrics about work in order to bring up old memories to start a discussion about careers during a group themed around Labor Day. Or, a music therapist may use the song “Walkin’ After Midnight” to encourage residents to perform seated exercises to promote physical activity and increase range of motion.
Music Therapists are comfortable writing songs with clients, improvising on different instruments, and creating successful musical experiences for residents of different abilities to engage all members. As someone who has experience both as a performer and as a clinician, a key difference in my role as a Music Therapist is making music with clients, not for them. This includes providing opportunities for group members to play solos on instruments like a pentatonic xylophone or djembe, leading drum circles with residents, or creating original lyrics with a group to express their thoughts and feelings to one another.
2. Music Therapy is Relationship-Based
Where performing musicians may develop their setlist without knowing individual residents (although many do form lasting relationships with their audiences!), a music therapist will specifically address individual preferences, incorporating specific songs into planned sessions. As a clinician who has practiced for a decade now, I have a long list of songs I have learned for specific clients over the years.
3. Music Therapy can Reduce Anxiety and The Need for Medication
Many older adults deal with psychological symptoms in addition to other medical needs. Polypharmacy is common in care settings, and while medication can be a wonderful help, non-pharmaceutical interventions are also valuable.
This finding suggests that music therapy can reduce the need for psychotropic medication. Additionally, and more importantly, music therapy can lead to participants feeling more regulated and better meet their emotional needs.
4. Music Therapists Can Navigate Tough Emotions
While music is an incredible tool, it can sometimes lead to unexpected responses. Music Therapists are trained in verbal counseling skills in order to process some of these difficult moments with our clients. For example, during a group I once played “Can the Circle Be Unbroken.” One resident became very tearful, but the music also provided us an opportunity to process bereavement over the death of a mother.
Even with participants in their 80s and 90s, that grief was still just as present as it had been 50 years ago, and the music gave us a healthy outlet to express feelings of sadness and loss as well as gratitude for the relationship. As a group, we were able to move from that emotional overwhelm to a place of hope, and end the session on a calmer note, by acknowledging and processing the grief in the moment. What could have been a derailment instead became a beautiful moment of healing.
5. Music Therapists Provide Documentation of Resident Outcomes
This one is perhaps less fun, but crucially important if you’ve ever been subjected to an audit! In the congregate care setting, activity professionals are required by CMS to provide appropriate documentation of activities and recreation. Music therapists provide documentation as part of their services— in addition to the benefits to participants, clear, effective notes are always helpful to have in a chart!
I want to stress that Music Therapy is not meant as a replacement for all the wonderful performers who already work in residential facilities. It’s easy to fall into “either/or” thinking when it comes to programmatic music vs. music therapy, but this is definitely a situation where “both/and” is more appropriate! While music is the common thread to both, the way in which it is used is entirely different, and leads to different outcomes.
In the same way that playing a game of softball and physical therapy are two very different things, both are beneficial. Programmatic music and music therapy are also an important part of creating, supporting, and enriching life for the elders in our communities.
All the Best!
Catherine
Catherine is a Music Therapist at Anderson Music Therapy Services. To learn more about our Music Therapist head to our "About" Tab.
Are you interested in providing Music Therapy in your facility or for your family member?
Yes! Schedule a free consultation with Noel to see how Music Therapy can improve quality of life and be an additional support.
