Benefits of music therapy in the elderly
Introduction.
Music can also help old people to feel belonging to a group, establish social awareness and interaction, maintain or improve personal identity thanks to reminiscence when listening to songs, for example and can also change affective states. In the group that is in this memory, I could see that the sessions have already advanced, the patients resonated with their own songs, sang together, they ended up associating and this gave rise to other songs from the previous ones, there was a notable a notableImprovement in the interaction of the group and in the communicative attitude, providing greater spontaneity and participation.
Developing.
In the behavioral aspect (one of the great concerns for relatives and caregivers), Raglio conducted an investigation in which musical instruments were used with 59 participants with dementia, divided into two: individual group and control group, to stimulate communication. The results indicate that music therapy is an effective intervention to reduce its behavioral and psychological symptoms (attention, concentration, language abilities) and can also improve communication between the patient and the therapist musician.
It has also been possible to observe how the communication and the link between therapist and the patients have become stronger as music therapy sessions advanced. At the beginning there was no confidence between therapist – user group, I arrived from new and they formed a smaller group than what they were normally accustomed. The sessions at the beginning were totally directive and did not give way to the emergence of improvised situations. As the sessions raised in a more open way, they responded less thought and more ease, they seemed comfortable in that space.
Communication has been established based on song listening, song, dance, games, etc. Finally this way of proceeding in the sessions implied that they flow differently from the former and the attitude of the users changed to be more active and participatory. Within a therapeutic musician process, regarding sedative and stimulating effects, music can help relaxation and reduce anxiety states, but does not have the same effect on all patients, so much that it is suggested that the opportunity be given topatient to choose your favorite music.
As for the musical preferences of patients, Gibbons discovered that older people prefer music from their youth and that in these cases there were no significant differences between preferring sedative or exciting music. Also researchers from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) carried out an investigation in elderly with depression diagnosis, through the Neuro Feedback method, which consisted of registering and analyzing the activity of the brain while listening to music according to theirmusical tastes. The results indicated a 17.2% improvement on the depressive state of these patients.
Lathom, Petersen and Havicek in 1982 determined in their studies that preferences are directly related to the prior musical education of patients and musical experiences of the past. Irish et al., They demonstrated that music favors autobiographical memory significantly reducing anxiety.
Regarding the cognitive perceptual area, the psychotherapeutic perceptual contributes benefits such as achieving greater autonomy in the person, maintaining their cognitive and perceptual abilities and stimulating identity and self – esteem. It also helps improve the capacity for attention, concentration and learning, communication and maintain verbal skills, stimulates both long and short term and favors mental activity and creativity.
It is important to evaluate this area in the individual and group to identify the presence of cognitive impairment that may affect the autonomy of the user and its inclusion or do in the group. The essential functions to maintain autonomy are: memory, perception, language, attention, concentration, orientation, calculation and reasoning.
There are people who have great difficulties to express themselves verbally or understand verbal language, and yet they are able to sing songs. The research carried out by Bruer, Spitznagel Cloninger in this area reflected that this therapy improves the cognitive and verbal functioning of these people. Influence in memory. Music stimulates memory both in the long and short term, retention increases and confusion decreases. During aging and in people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, memory is gradually lost, initially affecting episodic memory and semantics.
Cuddy and Duffin presented results of a study that they carried out of an 84 -year -old woman diagnosed with Alzheimer’s with a severe cognitive deterioration, whose memory and musical recognition were still preserved. The results were positive, they discovered that the autobiographical musical memory improves in patients with Alzheimer’s when listening to family music compared to the silence or music chosen by the therapist musician.
Conclusions.
Through a series of projects called “Musicotherapy Workshop”, a group music therapy investigation was carried out with older people with normal aging and dependence in several centers in Seville and Cádiz. The intervention was oriented to the development of individual and group identity from an expressive communicative approach. The sessions were semi -structured, with a marked beginning and end.
The workshop included a duration of 8 hours with a mixed group of 16 people between 65 and 80 years and only live music and body activation techniques, body percussion, song and vocal improvisation. The results showed significant changes in group relationships and an increase in individual participation. Users were able to maintain active participation between 50 and 60 minutes. Affective links are facilitated within the group, new forms of communication are created and the recognition of oneself and self-expression are encouraged.
Patients with Alzheimer. They remembered the songs learned in childhood better and there are indications that they can learn new songs. In my case I can corroborate that one of the patients with Alzheimer’s group of the assisted, the welcome song and heard the beginning of the guitar, began to sing the lyrics, he alone, spontaneously. These authors also demonstrated that active song improves the evocation of words, especially when it comes to family songs. Even those people who had lost the ability to learn new words were able to learn new songs.
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