The Beat of a Different Drummer: Music Therapy's Role in Dementia Respite Care
Abstract
Discusses the role of music therapy in dementia respite care. Music therapy is an effective treatment modality for persons with dementia, including those with Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia, brain disease, HIV, meningitis, and Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease. Community-based programs, especially adult day services, are increasingly turning to music therapy to meet the needs of their clients with dementia. While many larger programs are seeing the value of a full-time music therapist on staff, smaller programs that are unable to commit such financial resources are finding creative ways to use music therapeutically. Providers of all types and budgets are finding ways to incorporate therapeutic music in their programs, from offering internships and work-study opportunities for music therapy students to sharing the services of a music therapist across several sites and programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)