Category Archives: The Therapeutic Trio

Team Members: Jennifer Mikhli, MalkaNiknamfard, and Ilanit Zada

Paper discussing the effect music therapy has on cancer patients

Final Projects, The Therapeutic Trio

The paper entitled “The Effects of Music Therapy on the Quality and Length of Life of People Diagnosed with Terminal Cancer” by Russell E. Hilliard discussed an experiment conducted to observe the effect music therapy has on patients diagnosed with terminal cancer. In this experiment, all the subjects were diagnosed with various kinds of terminal cancer by at least two doctors and were only expected to live for an additional 6 (some less) months. All the participants were newly admitted to the Big Bend Hospice, they were all adults, and they all lived at home. These individuals were about 65 years old. Because they were not exactly the same age, they were divided evenly between the experimental and control group. In addition, the same held true for the gender of the participants; there was an equal amount of males and females evenly distributed between the two groups. However, the race was not controlled. The participants gave their consent and the experiment began.

In the control group, there were 40 participants who only received routine hospice services, while the 40 individuals in the experimental group received routine hospice services in addition to at least two music therapy sessions. The independent variables (the ones manipulated) were music therapy and routine hospice services. The dependent variables were quality of life, length of life (recorded in number of days), and relationship to time of death (in days) from the last visit of the music therapist. The null hypothesis was that there would not be a difference observed between the experimental ad control groups in relation to their quality of life, length of life, and relationship to time of death from the last visit of the music therapist.

The first tool was the Hospice Quality of Life Index-Revised (HQLI-R). The way this worked was that the participants filled out a questionnaire after the music therapy session (for participants in the experimental group) to relay their quality of life. The questions asked fell under three main categories: functional (daily enjoyable activities), psychophysiological (anger, pain), and social/spiritual. The higher the score they received, the better their quality of life. The second tool was the Palliance Performance Scale (PPS) used to measure the physical stature of the patients. This tool takes several factors into account, including intake, activity, ambulation etc. If the patient receives 0%, that is ranked as death, and 100%, ranked as normal activity and full ambulation. Between these two extremes there were 10% intervals to show any physical stature in between. The PPS was completed during all nursing visits. The final tool was the length of time which was measured by recording the dates necessary.

Results:

All participants had a chance to complete the HQLI-R at least twice and therefore the first two were the ones studied. The results showed that the quality of life for those receiving music therapy was higher than those who were not. In addition, for those who were in the control group, their quality if life lessened from the first to the second assessment. The first two scores of PPS were used as well. The results indicated that music therapy positively influences the patients quality of life even when death seems to be approaching. However, how long they lived was not effected by music therapy neither was there a relationship between time of death and therapists last visit. 

From the results, it is clear that the use of music therapy in a hospice care improved the quality of life of those who were diagnosed with terminal cancer. The scores measuring the patients quality of life showed an obvious increase for those receiving music therapy, while the individuals in the control group actually had lower scores following counselor’s visits. The results and data provided are a clear indication that music therapy is beneficial for those diagnosed with terminal cancer.

 

Physical Engagement with Music Therapy

As part of the physical engagement component of the project, the Therapeutic Trio set out to perform live music to the patients of Beth Israel Medical Center. Adorned in our blue coats, we were ready to meet the musical needs of the bedridden patients. We teamed up with another volunteer in the Musical Department who served as the guitar accompaniment to Jennifer Mikhli’s vocalist lead. Before setting out to the patient rooms, we practiced and prepared a queue of about ten songs. After some practice, we were ready to go out and perform. We began on the first floor of the hospital and started entering people’s rooms asking if they wanted to hear some music. After performing for one room, we were more at ease and able to fall into a synchronized pattern as we traveled from one room to the next.
The reactions and emotions that were evoked on those two separate occasions of live performance have impacted us beyond our wildest imaginations. Elderly and foreign patients that were unable to express themselves with words were found humming along to the tunes, as the music spoke to them on a level that no language could. Patients that seemed skeptical upon our first arrival, barely agreeing to our request of performing for them, were thanking us profusely upon our exits. It seemed that we were speaking directly to their souls, as one patient was chanting to herself that we should be blessed for the “joy that we was bringin’ to her.” I even found myself stifling back tears as the same lady went on to pray that the “lord should bless and lift their spirits.” Upon exiting that room and hearing the shouts of gratitude and joy, I could not help but feel my own sense of gratitude for the joy that she had given me.
The music that we performed in each room created this removed shared experience where the patients could simply forget the dire medical situation that they were in and just enjoy themselves. The music was able to drown out the beeps and buzzes of the machines, the cries of pains emanating from other rooms, and the loud noise of their morbid thoughts. Patients that had been staring off into a dreadful abyss upon our entering were left with smiles on their faces and joy in their eyes. Music, had in a way revived them for just that short time and provided them with hope. One lady from Venezuela was so grateful for sharing that experience with her because it had “brought up [her] mood,” as she said. Although very few words were exchanged in these short musical interactions, it felt as if an entire dialogue had transpired throughout.
The live music component played an important role in the interactions, as we were able to modify the music as we saw the reactions it evoked from a patient. For instance, when we saw one patient was not really responding to the slow ballad of “Halleluyah,” we tried a more upbeat song like “Hey soul sister” and found the patient clapping her hands in a wild, enthusiastic way. The patients also liked that a guitar was involved, as this sparked a conversation with them about their prior preoccupation with musical instruments. Many of them had actually been very connected to music, one being a composer, another a professional piano player; thus, this music had brought back a little part of their youthful past.
Ultimately, those musical performances have allowed me to see what powerful impacts music can have on the minds and souls of patients. Although there is a myriad of rich experimental evidence to prove music therapy’s efficacy in the treatment of patients health, this experience allowed for that evidence to be solidified. If those short musical interactions could have such a profound effect upon those elderly patients, certainly a long-term musical treatment plan could bring amazing benefits to those same individuals.
The aforementioned musical therapy sessions could not be recorded, however, here a clip of a man conducting similar music therapy sessions on the cancer patients of Riverside Methodist Hospital in Ohio.

Interview With Professor Brian Abrams

Final Projects, The Therapeutic Trio

We conducted the following interview with Professor Abrams who is a fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery. He has been a music therapist since 1995 and has an extensive background in this clinical field. In the interview, he gives a general description of the music therapy field, conveying its importance to individuals with mental, physical, and spiritual problems. He discusses the advantages of musical therapeutic sessions, relating them specifically to personal experiences in the field. A brief explanation is made about  the advantages of the use of live and pre-recorded music in such sessions. He concludes with suggestions as to how the field of music therapy can advance, specifically emphasizing the importance of educating the public about this emerging field.  Below is the full interview: