Music therapy is a practice that harnesses the well known and documented mood lifting properties of music to help with improving well being and mental health. In the right setting, it can also promote social interaction in people who may otherwise struggle with social connections and help with relaxation. It is for these reasons and many more that music therapy is seen as an extremely useful tool when working with the elderly.
What are the Benefits of Music Therapy for the Elderly?
You will instantly feel the emotional and often indescribable benefits of listening to their favourite album. Music therapy takes this premise and goes beyond. There are several types of music therapy, however, all have the same great benefits.
Emotional Benefits
The emotional benefits that the elderly can experience from music therapy are plentiful. For example, it can reduce anxiety. Whether this is general anxiety and stresses in life, or social anxiety, music therapy can help. Group music therapy specifically can help with social anxiety, bringing people out of their shells and giving them something to bond over.
Music therapy for the elderly can also be a helpful way to express grief and address the associated negative feelings.
Music can also create feelings of nostalgia and bring joy to many.
Physical Benefits
The physical benefits of music therapy for the elderly work hand in hand with the emotional. The soothing and calming feelings from music therapy can lead to relaxed muscles and lower blood pressure.
Making music can also refine and maintain motor skills and strengthen the mind and body connection.
Neurological Benefits
From a neurological perspective music therapy can help with insomnia and improve sleep quality, this is especially helpful for the elderly as there are many factors which can reduce sleep quality and negatively impact overall health.
Music therapy can also benefit those with brain injuries, singing along with songs can help with speech issues like pronunciation and vocabulary recall. Even writing music can be a useful way to improve communication for those with brain injuries.
What Types of Music Therapy is There?
There are four main types of music therapy that can help the elderly, each one helpful in its own way, but all of them are great for mental health and reducing cognitive decline.
Receptive Music Therapy
This form of music therapy is good for elderly people with hearing or memory issues. It involves hearing a piece of music and then the person expressing their thoughts on it. This expression doesn’t have to be through words, it can even be through movement, or responding with their own music. This type of music therapy can also be beneficial to do in a group to share ideas and encourage socialisation.
Improvisation Music Therapy
This is a more spontaneous form of music therapy and involves the elderly person having a go at creating their own music. This can be with instruments, through song or even writing lyrics. This form of music therapy is helpful for elderly people who suffer from issues relating to confidence or self-expression. It can also be therapeutic for those dealing with trauma or grief that they are not yet ready to talk about.
Compositional Music Therapy
This is a more structured form of music therapy. The elderly person will work with the music therapist to create their own composition; this ideally brings together music and lyrics. This is a great form of creativity to explore. It can build confidence, and learning new skills that are involved in music composition is really good for brain health and memory. It can also help seniors to express anything that they are not yet ready to talk about
Re-Creative Music Therapy
This form of music therapy involves the elderly person listening to a piece of music and then trying to recreate it. This is a more technical form and can be quite difficult, so it is important to ensure the elderly person understands that this is a low-stakes activity and to not apply too much pressure. When done correctly this form of therapy is really useful for fine-tuning motor skills. This makes it really good for those in the early stages of dementia.
Do I Need a Professional Therapist to Benefit From Music Therapy?
A professional music therapist will be highly trained, both musically and in psychology. They can take your goals into account and use music to help you reach them. However, many of the types of music therapy can be enjoyed by elderly people without the help of a therapist. There are no negative side effects that can come about from enjoying listening to and creating your own music, so if music is something that interests you or an elderly loved one then give it a go! It can also be a great bonding activity between family members.
We are always looking for new and exciting activities for our residents and keep them mentally and physically active. Music is certainly something we value at Little Croft and we love welcoming local musicians to our home to entertain our residents and get them involved in making music.
We offer personalised long term and short term care options in a respectful and empathetic way.
If you’d like to learn more about our welcoming residential care home and the activities that our residents get up to then get in contact with the team today.