Change is often hard for most people. Whether it is a change in job, change in location, or change in clientele, change can be difficult but can provide many unexpected rewards!
As Director of the Music Therapy Department, I talk to my employees on a regular basis about their favorite populations to work with and how to build upon their successes. It is my firm belief that employees have to be happy and do what they love! However, we always say that, "The only thing constant here at West Music is change." Just when you get comfortable, things seem to change.
As a music therapist who works in hospice, I am fortunate to see what a powerful tool music can be, and sometimes it is all about being in the right place at the right time. Recently, I was fortunate to experience this and see how music can be a powerful tool for our patients as well as the family.
Sometimes, I see individuals who I am told are unresponsive. Typically, in these types of sessions music can be used as a tool to help relax the client and bring comfort during the dying process. Music is also a powerful tool for the family members who are present who can choose to honor their loved one with a special song, or who prefer just to listen to the music rather than the monitors, which beep.
"Therapy that feels like therapy is BAD therapy." This is a quote from Jenna Justice, MM, HPMT, MT-BC. It's one of the many things that I learned from her over the past several years while earning my own HPMT (Hospice and Palliative Care Music Therapist) certification. As I meet with hospice patients and their families, I am constantly reminded of that quote because music therapy doesn’t feel like therapy, and that's one of the reasons it's so great.
I was in a situation recently with a patient, her friend, and her daughter. During the session we worked on many different care plan goals without anyone (other than myself) realizing what was transpiring.
When I arrived, the patient was sitting quietly alone in bed. She seemed very glad to see me as evidenced by her broad smile. She immediately chose songs of faith that had great meaning to her and after each song participated in analyzing the lyrics to the song and the history the songs had for her personally. She accepted small shaker instruments, raising them above her head and making beautiful music. Her friend arrived shortly and participated in reminiscing with the patient. The friend also chose songs and became very tearful at one point thinking about their long friendship coming to a close. The patient's daughter arrived and joined in, singing along and laughing with her mother.
As someone who works with clients in the hospice setting, I think it is very important to take time to take care of yourself emotionally. Death is not an easy concept to handle no matter what your age or experience. If you or someone you know has recently gone through a loss, here is a friendly reminder of the 7 stages of grief.
But please, it is important to interpret the stages loosely, and expect much individual variation. There is no neat progression from one stage to the next. In reality, there is much looping back, or stages can hit at the same time, or occur out of order.
The stages may even last for up to a year or more. Others may not understand this, and feel that it should be time for you to "get over it" and rejoin the land of the living. Just know that your desire to be alone with your sad reflections at this time is normal and will help you deal with outside pressures. You are acting normally. Others just may not get it.
One of the well known mantras about hospice in our music therapy office is "you never know what you are going to get." This is very true and sometimes "what you get" can be much unexpected, and you may not be sure of what to do.
I recently had the opportunity to use the Tascam DR-1 (digital recorder) in my work with hospice patients.
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