Music therapy is a treatment that many people aren’t sure about at first because it seems as if it might not be as effective as medical interventions. But there is a lot that music therapists can do to help your senior family member, yourself, and other people who help her to feel calmer, more relaxed, and happier in general.

Supporting Emotions and Relieving Grief and Anxiety

Music works on the subconscious to help people with emotions that they may not be able to express or to release in other ways. At the end of your senior’s life, you and she are experiencing an array of difficult emotions that you might not even be able to categorize. Having access to music therapy offers an opportunity to process those difficult emotions.

Supporting Relaxation

Facing the end of your senior’s life is a stressful and tense time, both for her and for you. Regular music therapy sessions can help to relieve much of that tension and promote a more relaxed atmosphere. This might be done with recorded music, too, if your loved one finds that she’s in need of more frequent help with relaxing. Using music in conjunction with other therapies, such as aromatherapy, can be even more effective.

Planning a Memorial Service

For many aging adults who are facing the end of their lives, being able to participate in planning the memorial service or funeral can give them a sense of control over what’s going on. Your elderly family member may not be able to control her health or other aspects of her life. But choosing the music that others hear during her memorial service can be extremely powerful for her.

Bringing Family Members Together

You might be surprised to find out that music can bring family members together, even if their relationships have been difficult in the past. At the end of your senior’s life, family members who may have avoided each other for long periods of time may find themselves forced to spend greater amounts of time together. Having musical solutions can make a big difference for everyone, including your elderly family member.

Using music therapy along with other tools, such as hospice elder care, gives you and your aging adult a more well-rounded plan for managing her care at the end of her life. You may find that practical help with specific tasks serves a distinct purpose, but so too does music therapy.

If you or an aging parent are considering hospice elder care in Philadelphia, PA, please contact the caring staff at Serenity Hospice today. Call (215) 867-5405.