Long-Term Care: When Should I Hire a Music Therapist?

When should a long-term care facility hire a music therapist? We know that people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities can have a wide range of physical and emotional needs: declines in motor functioning, social isolation, depression, anxiety, confusion, physical pain. We also know that music can be an effective way of caring for many of these needs.

Perhaps ideally, every facility would have a board-certified music therapist available to assess and work with every resident, but this is just not practical for many agencies. It is possible, though, for you to have a music therapy program that reaches residents in need in the most effective manner, while staying within your budget.

Long-term care facilities have several options to consider when planning a music therapy program. These include options for large and small group sessions as well as one-on-one sessions. It is my hope that this series will help you to determine which services will best meet the needs of your residents.

In the posts to come in this series, we will consider these options:

• One-on-one music therapy
• Small music therapy groups
• Specialized music-making groups
• When you don’t need a music therapist (Or, how to maximize the resources you have)

I hope you stay tuned for the posts in this series, but in the meantime I would love to hear any questions that you might have about the services a music therapist can provide. Please comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer your questions in the upcoming posts!