'Music-therapeutic Caregiving': The Necessity of Active Music-making in Clinical Care

Journal

The Arts in Psychotherapy

Year

2001

Issue

2

First Page

125

Last Page

135

Abstract

The authors introduce a new term here, music-therapeutic caregiving (MTC), to describe an active form of music-making by caregivers to and/or with patients during the course of actual caregiving activities. The goal for the patient in such a process is not the performance of music but the performance of a host of activities important for daily living and personal health. While MTC may involve singing on the part of the patient, its major focus is on 'receptive singing,' in other words, patient responsiveness to caregiver singing and the resultant effect this has on compliance, cognition, and emotion. A brief case study of the use of MTC in dementia care is presented, followed by a description of its general features. MTC is an extremely straightforward technique, one that can greatly increase the quality not only of patient care but the caregiver–patient relationship as well. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Music and Health Institute Terms

Alzheimer's and Related Dementias; Caregivers; Emotional Functioning; Interpersonal Relations; Long-Term Care Facility; Music Therapy; Neurodegenerative Disorders; Receptive Music Methods

Indexed Terms

characteristics of music-therapeutic caregiving & effects of caregiver-mediated singing on patient actions & reactions during morning care routine; 85 yr old female with dementia in special care unit; Dementia; Psychotherapeutic Processes; Singing; Caregiving; Caregivers; Nursing Homes

Study Type

Case Study; Qualitative Methods

Disciplines

Music Therapy

Document Type

Article

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