Posts Tagged ‘hospice’
Song Spotlight: “Beyond the Sunset”
Theme/Topic: Anticipatory Grief, Goodbye Mood/Tempo: Thoughtful, processing, slow Genre/Style: Country, Gospel You may hear “Beyond the Sunset” at funerals, perhaps when a spouse has passed away after decades of marriage. In a hospice setting, it can lead into important existential conversations, or it could simply provide a non-verbal container for two people to express their love for one…
Read MoreWhere Words Fail, Music Speaks
Many years ago now, I was an undergraduate studying music therapy, and my roommates and I decided it would be a great idea to write out famous quotations on construction paper and attach them to a wall – for an inexpensive, inspirational decoration, you know? Of all the quotations that I read and re-read while…
Read More6 Reasons To Use YouTube To Share Music With Older Adults
When you start sharing music with your older adults on a regular basis, you’ll need a way to access the songs and musicians that are important to them. There are many ways to track down clients’ favorite music, both low-tech (e.g. playing their own CDs or checking out CDs from the public library) and high-tech…
Read MoreDeath Cafe: A Review
I went to my first Death Café recently. Yes, that is a statement worthy of a double-take. We don’t typically associate coffee, treats, and casual conversation with DEATH, do we? As it turned out, having cake and coffee in a quiet café setting presented the perfect context for conversations about death, dying, grief, and hope.…
Read MoreMusic Makes A Connection For Hospice Volunteers
Consider this scenario: Elaine is a hospice volunteer who regularly visits a patient at Green Hills Memory Care. She loves her time with Helen, who has dementia but isn’t terribly confused yet. It’s no trouble at all to get Helen talking about her childhood adventures and sharing stories about the many children and grandchildren smiling…
Read More10 Strategies for Using Music for Reminiscence
Reflecting on one’s past is a vital task of living for older adults and people approaching the end of life. When it comes to supporting reminiscence with your care recipient, music can be an especially helpful tool. (P.S. For more strategies for facilitating reminiscence, check out this post.) Songs provide discussion material that is endlessly…
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