5 minute read
Caregiver Corner
CAREGIVER CORNER
MUSIC THERAPHY
Let the Rhythm Move You
BY DEE DUREN, MANAGING EDITOR
Karen Rose understands the power of music. Music has always been a part of her life, and now she considers it an indispensable part of her caregiving. Karen’s father was a minister, and her mother played the organ at church. When her father’s health was failing, he was hospitalized and given morphine. “He would become very agitated,” Karen said. “All I had to do was start singing this one song, and he would calm down. He would lie back down and start singing with me.”
So, when hospice workers recently asked Karen if she thought her mother, Lydia, would benefit from music therapy, she said yes. Lydia is 99 years old and has been diagnosed with dementia. Karen and her husband give Lydia 24hour care.
“I had no idea what to expect,” Karen said. “It was very surprising to me when it was offered. It’s been one of the best things that has happened with mother.”
GUITAR MAGIC
“Music stays with us to the end. That and our spiritual sense are the two things we don’t lose.” – Jacquie Cox, Music Therapist
A music therapist came to the family’s home with a guitar and sat down to speak with Lydia. She also brought a tambourine, maracas, and a bell. “At first Mother didn’t want anything to do with it,” Karen said. Lydia refused to take one of the musical instruments herself, but she did agree that she’d like to hear some of the old, familiar hymns she’d once played in church.
“You could just see Mother calming down and relaxing,” Karen said. As the visits continued, Lydia went from holding a tambourine on her lap to playing it as she sang along with the music therapist. “It’s so fun to watch the interaction between the two of them. My mother will sing her songs, and it brings so much joy and peace. It’s calming for my mother, and it’s also calming for me. After the first time, I thought, I’m going to do this for myself too.
“During very difficult times, I can start singing out loud, and ou can just see my mother change. I had no idea how important music is to someone in my mother’s state.”
One of the most important results of the therapy is that Karen catches glimpses of the mother she once knew. The singing sparks memories and, for a while, Lydia’s dementia seems to recede. “I feel like my mom’s back,” she said.
POWERFUL MEMORIES
Jacquie Cox, a local music therapist and the owner of Fanfare Music Therapy, has seen the power of music many times in her career. She has been board certified since 2016 and is licensed through the Oklahoma Medical Board. She offers group music therapy services for adults in senior living facilities and private music therapy in homes. It’s no surprise to her that music can help bring a person living with dementia back to themselves, at least to some degree. “Music stays with us to the end,” she said. “That and our spiritual sense are the two things that we don’t lose.” One of her favorite stories concerns a patient with very late-stage Alzheimer’s who needed a high level of personal care and was nonverbal. The very last part of a group session involved high-energy music with participants holding on to the edge of a parachute. The woman was taking part in the activity, smiling and laughing. “The last song was ‘Amazing Grace’ which she had performed as an organist in her church,” Jacquie said. “You could see her foot moving as if she was playing the organ. As I was leaving, she looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘I like that song.’”
HOW IT WORKS
Jacquie is quick to say that she is not an entertainer but is a neurologic music therapist who works on specific goals with her clients. She’s worked with clients from ages 2 to 101. Before going into private practice, she worked at the Oral Roberts University Music Therapy Clinic. “Neurologic music therapist training gives us direction in 20 standardized techniques to help clients in a wide range of areas,” she said. It’s used to improve cognitive functions like attention to task, problem-solving, and comprehension. It can improve speech and language skills for people with damage to the left hemisphere of the brain like former politician Gabby Giffords, and can also improve social and emotional functioning. For example, Jacquie may ask questions about the meaning of a song to encourage decision-making and stimulate long-term memory. Even the maracas and other handheld instruments have a rehabilitative purpose as clients get upper body exercise and follow directions for hand movements.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
For many of her clients and their caregivers, the biggest gift of music therapy is a connection to happy memories, according to according to Jacquie. She worked for quite a while with a former musician who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. At first, she worked alone with the client, but gradually, his spouse and professional caregiver attended the sessions as well. “The wife would be close, and we’d sing different songs from their past,” Jacquie said. “She was able to reminisce and talk about their experiences. It gave her a chance to connect with him and share memories while he could still speak. It brought such peace and created some positive memories and experiences during a difficult time.” For more information about music therapy, go to oru.edu and search for the Music Therapy Clinic or check Jacquie’s website at fanfaremusictherapy.org.
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