Hospice Music Therapy In Cressey City, California
Music therapy may be an appropriate therapeutic choice for those who are suffering from medical issues for which a cure is either hard to come by or no longer possible. Hospice patients might benefit from music therapy practices that can help ease both their physical and emotional difficulties.
This type of music therapy, which has been found to be effective in treating a wide range of conditions, includes working with a board-certified music therapist to meet the unique needs of each patient. Instrument playing, listening to music, selecting songs, singing, composing, music-assisted relaxation/imagery, and improvisation are all examples of interventions.
Hospice and palliative care patients can use the services of countless music therapists. Music therapy can be used in conjunction with normal medical measures to help patients with serious or fatal illnesses. Sessions with friends and family can add a social element to the already calming impact of listening to music in groups. Patients can express themselves through songwriting, listening to music, and playing instruments. Palliative care institutions treat a range of illnesses, but there are some common symptoms that can benefit from music therapy.
Memory Loss
Music therapy can be used to treat a variety of medical illnesses, including dementia and Alzheimer’s, that affect memory. Short-term memory is more affected by these diseases than long-term memory. They may not be able to remember new knowledge, but they may be able to recall memories from the past.
One can access long-term memories by listening to music from one’s childhood. When it comes to long-term memory, it is simpler to hold on to music memories because they are spread out over the brain rather than concentrated in a single place. Additionally, music therapy can help the brain re-establish neural connections and partially repair its memory. Palliative care patients benefit from music therapy because it helps them re-connect with their prior selves and feel more at ease throughout their time in hospice.
Insomnia
It has been shown that listening to soothing music in the midst of a difficult time might ease the symptoms of insomnia in hospice patients. Sleep deprivation is a common side effect of many major medical diseases. Anxiety and sadness are common side effects of medical problems, and they exacerbate exhaustion and sleep deprivation.
Because of the lack of side effects associated with sleeping aids, music therapy is an ideal treatment choice for insomnia. Before entering REM sleep, the brain’s pre-sleep rhythms slow down, and research shows that music therapy can speed up this process. Patients in hospice care who suffer from sleeplessness benefit greatly from the distraction-blocking and relaxation-inducing properties of music.
Pain Perception
Palliative care patients can benefit from music therapy, which helps reduce pain perception. Music’s impact on the brain can intervene in the subjective reaction to pain, which is both an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience.
One’s perception of pain can be reduced by listening to music that portrays enjoyment for a patient. It can also interfere with the brain-neuron process that results in the perception of pain. Relaxing music can help alleviate pain by preventing the release of stress hormones, which can lower the intensity of aches. Music can also stimulate the release of natural pain-relieving chemicals in the brain. Pain patients in palliative care may benefit most from music therapy.
Anxiety And Depression
It has been shown that music therapy can help alleviate some of the negative mood symptoms that hospice patients often experience. Patients who are dealing with a life-threatening illness may develop anxiety and mood disorders as a result of the trauma they are going through on an emotional and physical level.
Anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as other elements of daily living, can be helped by listening to music. Music therapy can help alleviate one’s depression symptoms by releasing “happy” neurotransmitters in the brain. To help soothe the body’s autonomic nervous system, music therapy approaches such as playing instruments and listening to your favorite songs can be used. Stress reduction and improved mood can make daily life more enjoyable for hospice patients.
Facilitate Communication And Connectedness
Patients in palliative care with cognitively debilitating illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s may benefit greatly from music therapy. These illnesses can impair patients’ capacity to communicate vocally, but music, which is a universal language, can help them overcome their communication difficulties.
Music therapy sessions can help those who have difficulty communicating verbally communicate more effectively. Nonverbal indications such as facial expressions and bodily gestures can be elicited through the use of music in therapy sessions. A patient’s ability to explain oneself to loved ones, medical professionals, and others can be facilitated by the universality of music for communication. Patients can feel less isolated and more in touch with one another when dealing with health challenges when they listen to music.
Music therapy’s multiple impacts can give significant symptom reduction for patients in palliative and hospice care. See if you can benefit from music therapy by reading on.
Palliative care patients and their key family members and friends are invited by music therapists to explore how creative music-based experiences in therapeutic interactions might address biopsychosocial needs and increase spiritual well-being. Music therapists can use this chapter to show patients of all ages how music can improve their quality of life and aid their families. Listening, singing or playing music that evokes memories of loved ones and locations might help patients cope with their condition. As part of music therapy song writing and improvisation, patients and their loved ones can discover new insights, wonder, pride, and accomplishment via a creative exploration of their musical and unique identities. The bereaved can benefit from the musical legacy created by patients. In order to alleviate and control symptoms, music therapists use guided music, relaxation, or imagery therapy. Additionally, extensive quantitative and qualitative research on the subject of music therapy is discussed as well as alternatives to music therapy in the absence of such professionals.
How Music Makes A Difference
Some of our patients have responded better to music than any other therapy. When a song resurfaces in your mind, brings back old memories, or elicits an emotional response, you’ve witnessed the power of music. For example, a patient with advanced dementia may be able to sing the entire song “You Are My Sunshine” in his or her own voice. Patients who are normally unresponsive have been observed tapping their feet to the music video soundtrack. Throughout the day, our music therapists are available to sing and perform for patients and their families, expressing our care for them and bringing joy and comfort. Our music therapists and program are entirely reliant on the generosity of our donors.
Benefits Of Music Therapy
There are a wide range of therapies offered by Melodia Care that include music therapy. Music therapy uses a range of musical genres to assist patients and their families feel more at ease, provide comfort, and increase general well-being. In order to help patients, comprehend, cope with, and understand their current problems, therapists and patients work together to build a therapeutic relationship that includes the use of music.
In order to help our patients, preserve their dignity and control as they near the end of their lives, Melodia care hospice care teams use music therapy. People’s physical and mental distress can be relieved through the use of music therapy. To help patients’ families cope with the stress of grief both before and after a patient’s death, bereavement services might be beneficial.
Group supervision by other board-certified music therapists is the most effective way to give Melodia care music therapy. In order to keep their certification, therapists must meet the most recent practice guidelines and retain the clinical skills and abilities necessary to treat patients successfully and professionally.
The music therapist employs music to support the sharing of memories and the processing of life changes that are occurring during these sessions with hospice patients. As a result, studies have demonstrated that music therapy is effective in treating people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
A typical music therapy session does not exist. Each session is tailored to the specific needs and abilities of the patients in attendance because every patient is unique. During the session, you can create new music, sing old favorites, or play an instrument impromptu. Various components of a person’s personality can be influenced by music in order to help them achieve greater levels of physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and cognitive well-being.
Music therapy may not always involve active participation from the patient. Relaxation, regular breathing rate establishment, and/or restlessness can all be achieved by having patients sit and listen to the therapist’s selection of music. Even if a patient’s abilities prevent them from fully participating in and benefiting from music therapy, they can still do so.
Preparing For Palliative Care
There will almost probably be a slew of questions and your needs may shift after receiving a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness. Anyone who has just gone through this kind of health crisis may want to start thinking about in-home care to help guide and assist them in their recovery process. Palliative care is an option to consider if you’re seeking for curative therapy for your disease.
Palliative care is an interdisciplinary approach to medical care that focuses on enhancing the patient’s quality of life and relieving their suffering for patients with serious, complicated illnesses. To improve the quality of life for patients and their families, it is believed that this method will assist in preventing and reducing suffering by identifying and managing physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Palliative care may be an option for you if you have a life-limiting illness but still wish to consult doctors for aggressive treatment of your diagnosis. Additional physical, mental, and spiritual assistance is made available to you as a result of this arrangement. Most health insurance policies also cover it. Before pursuing palliative care, it’s vital to determine whether or not you qualify for it.
Music therapy is available at Melodia Care Hospice. Call 1-888 635-6347 (MELODI-7) for more details.