Music Therapy for Aged Care Residents - Term Paper Example

Music Therapy for Aged Care Residents Student’s Name Institution Tutor Course Date Music Therapy for Aged Care Residents Introduction Aged care therapies allow elderly residents in a care giving facility to experience positive psychological changes. Music therapy is one of the viable options, which have been used to influence positive therapeutic changes in aged care residents. The suitability of music therapy in inducing positive health care changes in aged care residents has been a debatable issue for many health practitioners. Music therapy can be described as the use of music to promote the health and wellbeing of patients to ensure they easily overcome the ailments that are afflicting them. This form of therapy is done to reduce stress, lessen pain, improve memory, promote relaxation, and improve a patient’s physical rehabilitation. Music therapy is carried out by a certified professional who has competence in carrying out successful music therapy programs. Music therapy plays an important role in bringing positive change for aged care residents as revealed by various literary sources. Viability of Music Therapy for Aged Care Settings Music therapy can be used to promote therapies for depressed aged patients. The therapies can be used on elderly patients who exhibit serious side effects as a result of taking too much medication. Music therapies therefore offer relaxation remedies to this category of patients and hence enabling them to have relaxed thoughts. However, music therapy can only be effective in cases where the physicians have determined that it can bring a positive change to the patient. Kneafsey (1997, p. 343) argues that some patients who experience mood disorders can be made to relax through music therapies and this can improve their wellbeing a lot. Some depressed patients can be reluctant to take medication because of the side effects such a remedy may have on them. Therefore, the use of the patient’s favorite music can improve his mood and make him more receptive to treatment. The risks that can result in the use of music as an intervention in aged care are very low when compared to other forms of therapy, which causes patients not to heal quickly. The usage of music in care giving facilities helps to modify the environment in which the treatment therapies are administered. Music therapy helps to set a positive mood for the patient within the environment where it is conducted and this ensures he or she experiences a relaxed atmosphere. The objective of this therapy is to help a patient to realize positive results in terms of emotions, cognition and responsiveness to treatment (Brown, Gotell & Ekman 2001, pp. 126-130). Patients can be involved in the therapy where they are guided through several steps in singing to ensure that it encourages them to have better attitudes toward the treatments they are offered. The music therapy offered improves the relationship between a patient and a caregiver allowing for greater collaboration between the two parties in improving the quality of care given. The therapy can also be carried out through playing background music to allow the patient to cool down. Background music during therapy sessions helps to cool down aggressive and moody patients especially those suffering from dementia and other forms of depression. Dementia patients can maintain higher degrees of responsiveness and this helps in recovering their memory back and encouraging their level of social interaction. The patients become more cooperative with their caregivers in such settings, thereby making it possible for them to access quality remedies. Patients are made to understand the treatment routines better and the reasons why they are being treated within a particular healthcare facility. Singing is a good way through which elderly people living in nursing homes can access recreation, thereby helping them access quality remedies to their ailments (Brown, Gotell & Ekman 2001, pp. 126-130). Residents within such environments can take part in singing activities supervised by a qualified caregiver and this enables them to get good therapies for their ailments. Residents within nursing care settings need to be allowed to access alternative music therapy solutions which can have positive effects on their recovery. Music therapy can be included as a form of primary care within health care settings because many health care systems in the world are focused on outpatient health programs. Music therapy can be made available to those aged patients who receive care from their homes for various age related disorders (Schmid & Osterman 2010, pp.1-3). Patients suffering from neurological disorders such as sclerosis, arthritis and cardiac complications can be introduced to homecare therapies after their discharge from health care facilities to help in their recovery. Elderly patients can be rehabilitated through therapy to continue with their programs even when they are outside the formal health care facilities. The patients can be able to use the familiar environment of their homes together with the relaxing songs being played therein to achieve quality rehabilitation for their ailments. Patients undergoing palliative care within their homes need interventions, which respond to their emotional, social and psychological needs to help them cope with the rehabilitation being given to them. This gives such patients the necessary conditions through which they can reach out to their caregivers and families for the support they need to overcome the pain and suffering that they are experiencing. Schmid and Osterman (2010, pp. 5-7) insist that the therapies offered should be innovative and well suited to the patient’s surroundings for them to have a positive impact on his rehabilitation. This can help patients find it easy to undertake normal routine procedures such as eating and sleeping. Music therapy within a home environment helps a patient to relax in a more natural setting where he or she can have the benefit of interacting with family members comfortably. The relatives of a patient can plan schedules through which he or she can be able to receive the care. This ensures fewer interruptions, which are experienced when the patient is receiving the care. The patient can benefit from the constant encouragement offered by the relatives to realize positive outcomes in therapy (Horne-Thompson 2003, pp. 38-41). The patient’s individual preferences must be taken into account when formulating music therapies that can help to stimulate the desired changes. The inclusion of a patient’s favorite songs in the repertoire to be used in the therapy sessions offered can help him achieve the necessary rehabilitation quickly. Mirenkov, Kanev and Takezawa (2009, pp. 31-34) state that patients react to the music depending on their cultural backgrounds and exposure to the songs being played. The individual’s preferred genre of music reduces the patient’s anxiety and makes him comfortable within the environment in which care is being given. A song which has a positive influence on a patient helps to achieve positive rehabilitative results as this makes the patient experience a lively atmosphere. Music therapists should analyze the behavioral reactions of their patients when various genres of music are played to determine their preferences and establish how they can help in carrying out therapy sessions. Elderly patients with depression can be assessed on their responses to music within a healthcare setting. For example, Norberg (1986, p. 315) tested the effects music can have together with other therapeutic procedures on two elderly patients who were diagnosed with dementia. The patients had difficulties in communication but they were generally aware of the environment in which they were. The patients were reclusive and mainly confined themselves to their bed areas. The procedure sought to test their stimuli on response to music, sight and sense of touch. The patients listened to the same music and they were encouraged to look and touch various objects (Norberg 1986, pp. 317-318). The study observed that the first patient reacted to music through inaudible mouth motions and wide opening of the eyes while the second patient reacted to music through blinking movements of the eyes. It was deduced that the first patient’s reactions to the music were as a result of adjusting to the environment created by the played music (Norberg 1986, p. 320). The second patient’s reactions to the music signaled that the music offered a relaxed atmosphere, which made the patient more at ease. The use of music as a solution to soothe pain in geriatric care has also been tested. Schorr (1993, pp. 27-28) tested the effectiveness of music therapy on women with arthritis who were experiencing severe pain. The women were 31 in number and they were all afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis, which affected their movements and caused them pain within their joints. The women filled in a questionnaire before a song each of them preferred was played, during the music therapy and a few hours after the music had been played. The results, which were gathered, showed that the women experienced the lowest reduction in pain since they began treatment for the arthritis that was afflicting them after the music therapy session. The women had a choice in choosing the music that they liked and this was one of the contributing factors that helped them to be receptive to the therapy (Schorr 1993, pp.31-34). The women required less pain reducing medications because they experienced a soothing atmosphere that was therapeutic in helping them to overcome the difficulties they were facing. Music therapies offer patients the necessary relief they need from pain thereby helping them to use fewer medications during their treatment. Conclusion In conclusion, music therapies offer a lot of benefits to aged care patients within facilities that offer geriatric care. However, for this form of therapy to be successful various issues must be taken into consideration: The therapist must have the necessary skills and training that is needed to offer this form of therapy to the aged patients. The therapy must be done voluntarily with the patient’s consent to ensure that there is adequate collaboration between him and the caregiver. The therapist needs to assess the patient’s preferences regarding genres of music, which can make it possible to evaluate his progress to the therapy being given. The use of the music therapy must take note of the surroundings in which the patient is admitted, which is vital in developing a schedule on how the therapy should be done. References Brown, S, Gotell, E & Ekman, SL 2001, ‘Music-therapeutic caregiving’: the necessity of active music-making in clinical care’, The Arts in Psychotherapy, vol. 28, pp. 125–135. Horne-Thompson, A 2003, ‘Expanding from hospital to home based care: implications for Music Therapists Working in Palliative Care’, Australian Journal of Music Therapy, vol. 14, pp. 38-49. Kneafsey, R 1997, ‘The therapeutic use of music in a care of the elderly setting: a literature review’, Journal of Clinical Nursing, vol. 6, pp. 341–346. Mirenkov, N, Kanev, K & Takezawa, H 2009, ‘Mobile music therapy with multimedia quality of life supporters for elderly and disabled’ Journal of Multimedia, vol. 5, no.1, pp. 29-44. Norberg, A 1986, ‘Reactions to touch, music and object presentation in the final stages of dementia: an exploratory study’, International Journal of Nursing Studies, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 315–323. Schmid, W & Ostermann, T 2010, ‘Home-based music therapy: a systematic overview of settings and conditions for an innovative service in healthcare’, BMC Health Services Research, vol. 10, no. 291, pp. 1-10. Schorr, A 1993, ‘Music and pattern change in chronic pain’, Advances in Nursing Science vol.15, no. 4, pp. 27–36. Read More