Music Therapy & Alzheimers
How Does Music Therapy Make a Difference for Individuals with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s?
Music therapy interventions with individuals who have Alzheimer’s or related dementias provide opportunities for:
• Memory recall which contributes to reminiscence and satisfaction with life • Positive changes in mood and emotional states • Sense of control over life through successful experiences • Anxiety and stress reduction for older adult and caregiver • Awareness of self and environment which accompanies increased attention to music • Nonpharmacological management of pain and discomfort |
How Does Music Therapy Help Families of Individuals with Diagnoses of Alzheimer’s and related dementias?Music Therapy provides: • A forum to share common experiences and enjoyment as a couple or family • Meaningful time spent together in a positive, creative way • Relaxation for the entire family • Stimulation for reminiscence of family bonds • Unity and intimacy for families through verbal and nonverbal interaction |
The Experts Say...
Dr. Oliver Sacks, at the Hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging entitled, "Forever Young: Music and Aging," stated: "The power of music is very remarkable... One sees Parkinsonian patients unable to walk, but able to dance perfectly well or patients almost unable to talk, who are able to sing perfectly well... I think that music therapy and music therapists are crucial and indispensable in institutions for elderly people and among neurologically disabled patients."
Oliver Sacks, M.D. is a physician, a best-selling author, and professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center. He is best known for his collections of neurological case histories, including The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat (1985), Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007), The Mind’s Eye (2010) and Awakenings (1973).
Music therapy interventions with individuals who have Alzheimer’s or related dementias provide opportunities for:
• Memory recall which contributes to reminiscence and satisfaction with life
• Positive changes in mood and emotional states
• Sense of control over life through successful experiences
• Anxiety and stress reduction for older adult and caregiver
• Awareness of self and environment which accompanies increased attention to music
• Nonpharmacological management of pain and discomfort
