Towards sustainable implementation of music in daily care of people with dementia and their spouses

Ayelet Dassa, Michal Rosenbach, Avi Gilboa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Primary caregivers (PCs) of people with dementia deal with stressful daily living, especially spouses whose care recipient is at home. Several programs have been developed to aid caregiving by providing musical strategies, yet successful sustainable implementation of music in the daily lives of the couples awaits further research and development. To promote this, in this pilot study we proposed a music therapy program that included 12 weekly sessions with the couple in their home environment. In addition, there were bi-weekly phone counseling sessions with the PC, to reflect on the joint sessions and to help implement music in daily life. Findings based on the description, analysis, and interpretation of two cases showed that the proposed program provided a strong foundation upon which the treatment could succeed; it relied on natural forces such as the use of songs, which can empower each of the spouses individually, as well as together as a couple; and it included elements of ongoing support that enabled preservation of the accomplishments that were achieved during the sessions. Future research is required to examine whether this program is appropriate for couples in other housing contexts, and in different stages of dementia.

Original languageEnglish
Article number101713
JournalArts in Psychotherapy
Volume71
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Dementia
  • Home-based
  • Music therapy
  • Musical strategies
  • Primary caregivers

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