What does a typical session look like?

I get asked a lot, "So, what does a typical session look like?"

I'm never sure how to answer that, because there isn't a typical session! What we do always depends on the needs of the person in front of us. We might make a great plan for a particular session, but if the client needs something different, we adapt on the spot.

But for the sake of a better understanding of music therapy, I'll do my best to explain what you might expect for the different services we provide.

For individual sessions at your home, you should expect me to arrive with a guitar and a few other instruments on hand. We can meet in your kitchen, living room, at the bedside of the patient, outside on a nice day - really, wherever you are most comfortable. We'll talk about your music preferences and background, and we'll discuss why I'm there. Then, we'll probably make music! I encourage clients to sing and play instruments if they're comfortable. Songs usually lead to you sharing related stories. And those stories usually lead to related songs! And so it goes! It's a very flexible time that we spend talking and making music.

If it's an individual session for a person with dementia, I'm going to do what's needed to help that person sparkle. If I need to walk around the home with my guitar, following the person in order to gain attention, I'll do it! If I need to quickly move from one song to the next, or to repeat a song 10 times, I'll do it! I will leave space for the client to fill in musical blanks, to express themself however they can. It's not unusual during these sessions to see some surprising responses! You may see some movement to music, bright smiles, and hear music that you didn't expect to hear. And hopefully, you will see your loved one shine through that cloud of dementia to really get involved in the here and now.

For hospice sessions, it might be a little quieter. There will still be live music, and depending on how the patient responds, it may be calm or it may be stimulating. Family members are encouraged to participate if they are comfortable. This is often a healing time to share stories and talk together with the support of related music. If the family is having a hard time joining in, I'll focus more on the patient or will play music to help put the room at ease. My job is to make sure the patient is comfortable, and to help make those connections. Sometimes it's my job to gently suggest that the family say what they need to to their loved one. We know that the hearing is the last to go, so we remain kind, gentle, and loving in our talk and in our music.

Neurologic music therapy looks completely different than any other type of session. We have definite work to do, so we will set goals and do the work together, using music, to get it done! My job is to design creative, musical solutions to work on your language, physical, or cognitive goals. You may be playing instruments in a different way to work on physical goals, or you may be filling in the blanks to familiar songs while we work on enunciation. We don't always use full songs- we may only use elements of rhythm to stimulate the brain, or we may use other musical elements to cue movement. It's work, but it's enjoyable!

Music therapy groups have a mix of live and recorded music. We work on social goals by quickly learning everyone's name, then use those names in songs throughout the session. Everyone is encouraged to sing, move, and play instruments. We do a lot of rhythm work with a metronome, because we know that rhythm expecially is helpful to stimulate the brain. During these exercises, we're working on short term memory and attention. We may play musical games, do some chair dancing, re-write some song lyrics, and sing requested songs. The groups last for an hour, and rarely does anyone fall asleep! What we do is a lot of fun, but under the surface, there's a lot of work going on, too!

Of course, there are a lot more things I might do in a session. Like I said, it depends. No two sessions ever are the same, even from person to person, week to week. It sure keeps me on my toes, and it's the most enjoyable and rewarding work I could ever imagine.

Small group session in memory care