Clinical Placement Report: Music Therapy for Dementia Treatment

This report discusses the application of music therapy in treating dementia, focusing on a case study involving a 65-year-old patient, Mr. John, at Concord Hospital. The report details the patient's background, the nature and causes of dementia, and the current treatment approaches. It highlights music therapy as a complementary medicine technique, differentiating between receptive and active methods, and emphasizes the therapeutic benefits of music in managing dementia symptoms such as memory loss and mood swings. The author reflects on their clinical placement experience, noting the positive impact of music therapy on the patient's well-being and overall health condition. The report concludes that music therapy is an effective tool for improving the quality of life for individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Desklib offers a variety of resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to assist students in their studies.

Running head: ORAL PRESENTATION
Use of music therapy in Dementia
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:
Part :B

Use of music therapy in Dementia
Patient background:
During my clinical placement in Concord hospital, mental health unit, and my PEP subject is the
use of music therapy in Dementia. Within a few days of my placement at the mental health unit, I
encountered an old patient named Mr John (pseudonym). He was 65 years of old, male and a resident of
Sydney Australia. His spouse was along with the patient during admission and I had a discussion with
his wife to get more details about the patient. As per his wife, he was a normal person some seven years
back when he retired from the job. He developed mental illness slowly and his present condition
compelled her to bring him to the hospital for treatment. It was observed that, he has been suffering from
memory loss and other complication such as, problem in reasoning solving skill, communication skill,
organizing things and planning. When he is submitted to hospital, he seems to be extremely angry. In
hospital to evaluate his mental wellbeing, doctor has conducted a variety of tests such as evaluation of
memory, language, visual perception, attention, problem-solving, movement, senses, balance and
reflexes. From the evaluation, it is stated that patient is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The patient
also has a deficiency of vitamin B.
2.1 Dementia
Dementia is an irreversible, progressive disease which affects structures of the brain.
Hippocampus which is the part of the central nervous system allows us to remember things (Dr. Ananya
Mandal, 2013). The prevalence rate of dementia is maximum in case of older adults. One of the most
common type of dementia that is observed is Alzheimer's disease. In Alzheimer's disease, short-term
memory loss is observed, because of changes in the structure of the brain (Murray, Graff-Radford, and

Dickson, 2011). The other types of dementia are, Vascular disease and Frontotemporal disease. It can
affect the personality and behavior of a person (Alzheimer's Society, 2013).
2.2. Causes of dementia
Dementia can be due to the hereditary problem, and it takes years for the condition to progress
much further, but if the disease happens to be diagnosed at initial stages, it is easier to control (Norman,
2012). The other factors which is responsible for causing Alzheimer's disease is the lifestyle and the
environmental factors. Other than these, there are other several factors responsible for dementia. In case
of Alzheimer's disease, the disease begins in the limbic system. When cholinergic neurons are lost or
damaged, pathways to and from the limbic system begin to collapse (WebMD, 2013). This in turn
reduces the size of the brain slowly. The damage due to Alzheimer is irreversible, affecting the function
of the brain and leading to a failure to remember, to communicate, and to move over some time.
2.3 Current treatment in dementia
Instead of maximum prevalence rate of dementia, no drug can cure dementia and eliminate the
disease in whole. Hence, in order to treat dementia, alternative approaches are used such as music
therapy and robotic therapy. Music therapy is useful in controlling the adverse effects of the Alzheimer's
disease. Music therapy has come a long way to improve communication of the patient with the help of
spoken language or Music. In robotic pet therapy, the robots are used to treat the patient.
Chosen intervention for dementia.
2.4 Music therapy
2.4 Music therapy
Music therapy is a complementary medicine technique which uses Music skillfully prescribed by
qualified therapists. Music therapy is being used since ancient days and is applied for healing mental

tension (Norman, 2012). Music therapy now-a-days commonly used in the treatment of patient suffering
from Alzheimer disease. By observing the mental condition of the Mr. John, I have chosen music
therapy as an intervention to manage dementia. I have used this therapy not only to cure mental health
issues but all other conditions such as simple depression which is a normal phenomenon of a patient
away from his family and friends, can be cured by music therapy activities. Music may not eliminate
illness, but Music can help or act as a medicine to comfort or to bring peace to the mind of patients
(BENNET, 2013).
There are two main types of music therapy i.e., receptive and active music therapy. In responsive
music therapy, the patient enjoys their favorite songs. In the case of active music therapy, the patient is
involved actively in Music making through playing on small instruments like the electronic piano.
2.5 Therapeutic benefits of Music
Music has therapeutic use in the treatment of the patient. To gain excellence in the application of
music therapy, a little orientation is needed for the nurse. It is important for the nurse to know the
process of applying music therapy to treat any patient suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. To know the
benefits of music therapy and how it can be used to the satisfaction of different types of people with a
mental health condition (Sung et al., 2011). In order to treat Mr. John, I have used both the receptive and
active music therapy. I used fun music with patients; it may be dancing, timely clapping (I encouraged
patients to clap a lengthy time with me) and I sung together with the patient. These three styles of music
therapy do not require any specific orientation, but the only thing I have, is the desire, confidence,
passion for Music and time to spend with the patients (Sung et al., 2011). Music is universal, and it can
match any mood or feeling at any given time, for example, a person will feel happy when he hears his
favorite Music (Hansen, 2017). His memorial center recalls and photographs and music which he
already knows. Some studies also show that Music causes changes in the circulation of the blood

because of the feeling of the' pulse.' In anxiety situations, this also calms breathing by releasing "bad"
energy in one person and letting him get controlled once more (McDermott et al., 2012)
Reflection:
During the clinical placement, I was assigned to take care of Mr. John. Mr. John is having
Alzheimer disease. In the treatment of Mr. John, I used music therapy. I have observed that music
therapy works in case patient suffering from dementia and amnesia (Hansen, 2017).). The long-term
memories are triggered by Music. I have observed that in many cases, those who didn't talk for years
start singing songs that they knew in their early teens and early adulthood (Aplaceformom.com, 2018).
I used to play different types of music according to the interest of the patient associated with
clapping. Initially the patient seems to be angry but after using the music therapy, the patient is seemed
to be relaxed from before. By applying music therapy to the patient for a regular time, the quick
recovery of the health condition is observed. As per Vink, Bruinsma, Scholten, (2011) “music therapy is
useful for the persons suffering from dementia," music therapy is primarily consisting of singing,
hearing and playing instruments of Music. Music and song may stimulate hemispheric specialization.
The song is critically determined by right-hemisphere structures, according to clinical observations.
3.0. Conclusion
From the above report, it can be concluded that, music therapy is observed to as one of the best
tool. In patient suffering from Alzheimer’s disease music therapy is proved to be effective. In case of
Alzheimer’s disease, patient suffers from memory loss and mood swings. By applying the music
therapy, health condition of the patient can be improved. In the above assignment, music therapy, their
types and their effect on the people suffering from dementia is explained in detail. In the above essay,
types of dementia, their impact on the brain is discussed.

References:
Alzheimer's Society. (2013). Types of dementia. [online] Available at:
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=200362 [Accessed 29 May 2019].
Aplaceformom.com. (2018). Dementia Therapy And Music – A Place for Mom. [online] Available at
https://www.aplaceformom.com/planning-and-advice/articles/dementia-therapy-and-music [Accessed 2
Jun. 2019].
BENNET, R., (2013). ALIVE INSIDE: A Story of Music & Memory. [online] Kickstarter. Available at:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1406732546/alive-inside-a-story-of-music-and-memory [Accessed
29 May 2019].
Dr. Ananya Mandal, M. (2013). What is Hippocampus?. [online] News-Medical.net. Available at:
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Hippocampus-What-is-the-Hippocampus.aspx [Accessed 29 May
2019].
Hansen, S., (2017). DEMENTIA AND MUSIC THERAPY. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 13(7), p.P1411.
McDermott, O., Crellin, N., Ridder, H., and Orrell, M. (2012). Music therapy in dementia: a narrative
Norman, R., (2012). Music Therapy Assessment of Older Adults in Nursing Homes. Music Therapy
Perspectives, 30(1), pp.8-16.
Sung, H., Lee, W., Chang, S., and Smith, G. (2011). Exploring nursing staff's attitudes and use of Music
for older people with dementia in long-term care facilities. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(11-12),
pp.1776-1783.
Vink, A., Bruinsma, M., and Scholten, R. (2011). Music therapy for people with dementia (Review.
[online] Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Available at:
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003477.pub2/epdf/full [Accessed 2
Jun. 2019].