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   Palliative Care

The use of music therapy for end of life care is being utilized more and more, especially as hospice care and hospitals provide for this service.  Goals for music therapist include: promoting relaxation, controlling pain, providing for a sense of well being, stimulating memories, re-experiencing life, or supporting emotional and spiritual expression.  The music therapist also finds it important to provide therapy for family members, allowing them to express emotions ranging from sorrow to anger to peacefulness.

Although some studies have been done to evaluate music therapy and palliative care, much is still needed in terms of empirical, objective data.  Of the studies that have been done, the sample sizes are small, often there is no control group, and much of the data is qualitative. 

Of the current research, the result most often found is improved quality of life in those who receive some form of music therapy.   In fact, one study showed a direct relationship between the number of music sessions and an increased quality of life.  Being one of the primary issues dealt with in hospice and palliative care, music therapy has become one of the more popular methods of improving quality of life. 

 Other research has shown pain relief (and also exacerbation of pain if the therapy is used incorrectly), decrease in anxiety (shown as a decrease in heart rate and breath rate), and an increased sense of spirituality with the use of some form of music therapy. 

As more programs for music therapists develop, this service is being offered to the patient more often.  Usually referred to by a social worker or hospice care worker, the music therapist must individualize each patient’s therapy.  In an initial session, the music therapist gets to know the patient in depth, learn his/her music history, music preference, and how much he/she wishes to be involved.  Through the music, the therapist attempts to provide means of communication, increase spirituality, pain control, mean for self expression, and promotion of family bonding.  Music therapy attempts to give the patient some sort of control which they may not otherwise have.