Characteristics of Music Therapy With Beneficial Impacts on Agitation in Dementia

Autor/innen

  • Frode A. Kristiansen The Grieg Academy – Dept. of Music, University of Bergen, Norway
  • Brynjulf Stige The Grieg Academy – Dept. of Music, University of Bergen, Norway
  • Anna Helle-Valle The Norwegian National Centre for Ageing and Health, Norway

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v23i2.3851

Schlagworte:

dementia; agitation; instrumental case study; music preference; trustful relationships

Abstract

Several reviews in recent years have reported evidence of the effect of music on the serious problem of agitation in dementia. Some reviews draw different conclusions, however, which actualizes the need for studies that examine characteristics of music therapy with beneficial impacts on agitation. In an instrumental case study, documented through qualitative interviews, recordings of group meetings, and patient record excerpts, we examine how music was used intensively in interaction with a man in his 70s at a unit for persons with dementia. Music therapy was often able to ease his agitation and was especially valuable in a period when he needed to be isolated due to a suspected coronavirus infection. However, the interventions did not work every time, and his responses differed considerably. The case illustrates that music therapy can address agitation in dementia for some clients, but the claim must be qualified. Potential characteristics of music therapy with such an ability might be i) situated use of the most favored music, ii) careful adjustment to signs of pain and discomfort, iii) sustained effort to build trustful relationships, iv) transferable interaction patterns of health musicking, and v) sufficient access to attention and support for the client(s) during the musical interventions.

Autor/innen-Biografien

Frode A. Kristiansen, The Grieg Academy – Dept. of Music, University of Bergen, Norway

Frode A. Kristiansen is a PhD candidate at The Grieg Academy – Dept. of Music, University of Bergen (UiB), Norway. He has more than ten years of experience working as music therapist in residential age-care settings in Norway. A central part of his PHD project is the action research project MUSIAGI which engages people with dementia, caregivers, music therapists and health leaders.

Brynjulf Stige , The Grieg Academy – Dept. of Music, University of Bergen, Norway

Brynjulf Stige, PhD, is Professor of Music Therapy at The Grieg Academy – Dept. of Music, University of Bergen (UiB), Norway. He is the founding leader of POLYFON Knowledge Cluster for Music Therapy, a university-community collaboration that explores knowledge-informed and user-involved ways of developing the discipline and profession of music therapy in Norway. He has published extensively on topics such as culture-centered music therapy, community music therapy, and music therapy theory.

Anna Helle-Valle, The Norwegian National Centre for Ageing and Health, Norway

Anna Helle-Valle, PhD. Anna Helle-Valle is a psychologist with an interdisciplinary PhD about how we understand children’s restlessness from the University of Bergen. This thesis bridges music therapy, general medicine, and psychology. She currently works for the Norwegian National Centre for Ageing and Health. Anna Helle-Valle has founded Siste Kapittel, a non-profit organization for an age-inclusive society.

Photo of authors Kristiansen, Helle-Valle and Stige

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Veröffentlicht

2023-07-01

Zitationsvorschlag

Kristiansen, F. A., Stige , B., & Helle-Valle, A. (2023). Characteristics of Music Therapy With Beneficial Impacts on Agitation in Dementia. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v23i2.3851

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Rubrik

Research