Music Therapy Month Series: Music Therapy and Hospice

Suzanne De Chillo/The New York Times

A Short History of Hospice Care:

In its earliest days, the concept of hospice was rooted in the centuries-old idea of offering a place of shelter and rest, or "hospitality" to weary and sick travelers on a long journey. In 1967, Dame Cicely Saunders at St. Christopher's Hospice in London first used the term "hospice" to describe specialized care for dying patients. Today, hospice care provides humane and compassionate care for people in the last phases of incurable disease so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible. (Source http://www.cancer.org )

Music Therapy's Role:

In a room where a person transitions from this life, the emotions present are often intricately woven together like a blanket. Just as a blanket can provide comfort for persons during the dying process, those same emotions can feel restricting and limiting. Music can ease a person’s mind, allowing emotions to surface and anxieties to release. Active and passive music listening can provide a person with a change in pain perception that may offer them relief and comfort. Kubler-Ross, a pioneer on the methods associated with death and dying, has identified fives stages to describe the emotional and psychological responses that many people face when approaching death. The five stages (which are not a rigid series of steps) include:

D - Denial

A - Anger

B - Bargaining

D - Depression

A – Acceptance

The Music Therapy Process:

In a music therapy session in the hospice setting, the therapist may use a patient’s preferred artist or song to identify the experience as the patient’s own. Music can address and deal with underlying feelings that are tied to various stages of response.

During end of life, there is often a need for life review. Music gives room for capturing moments that are deeply personal, even though a song is so widely known. Some memories cannot be explained in words, but the music speaks volumes for a patient.

Many times loved ones remain close during the dying process, and so quite often music therapy sessions involve family and friends. Music during these times can benefit not only the dying but those who may be grieving. Music therapists are trained to work with the person, not the illness. With music therapy in hospice care, the therapist is there to facilitate a celebration of life and support the spirituality of that person as they pass from this life.

"Where words fail, music speaks." ~ Hans Christian Anderson