Music therapy increases focus for memory impaired

Music therapy group

By Wendy Zieve

Community members at Aegis Callahan House, a facility for the memory impaired located in Shoreline, enjoy making music each month with Rebecca Wu, a board certified music therapist who specializes in elderly music groups. Wu uses tone chimes – an instrument that makes a sound similar to a hand bell but is smaller, and gets the seniors to participate together, focus on hand-eye coordination and attention span.

The public is invited to attend a workshop on May 4th with Dr. James Gardiner, a Neuropsychologist from South Dakota, to learn music therapy techniques to improve memory, concentration and executive function for patients with traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s/dementia or stroke. May 5th an all day symposium “Music Therapy: Emerging Trends in Research and Clinical Applications” will feature Dr. Gardiner as a keynote speaker, then break-out sessions with a variety of speakers will cover topics of music for pain management, autism, mental health needs, and other cognitive, emotional and/or physical challenges. These events will be on the campus of Seattle Pacific University, which offers a bachelors degree in music therapy.

Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in many areas such as: overall physical rehabilitation and facilitating movement, increasing people's motivation to become engaged in their treatment, providing emotional support for clients and their families, and providing an outlet for expression of feelings.

Information on the Music Therapy Symposium 2012.

For information on music therapy, visit Music Therapy and for the local professional organization, Music Therapy Association of Washington.