Music Therapy Through One on One Concerts
Personalized music therapy may help decrease antipsychotic use and improve dementia symptoms in individuals with dementia according to a new study in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
“Results from this study offer the first evidence that the M&M [Music and Memory] individualized music therapy program may be associated with reductions in antipsychotic and anxiolytic medication use as well as improvement in behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia among nursing home residents with ADRD,” wrote first author Kali Thomas, PhD, MA, of Brown University School of Public Health, (Providence, RI), and colleagues.
The M&M program became famous in the movie Alive Inside. My custom concerts for individuals, endorsed by Teepa Snow, pretty much accomplishes the same thing. I stream live concerts over the Internet that can be viewed on smart TVs, computers, and mobile devices.
It is a one to one concert that you can gift to an older adult friend or relative. Imagine sparking very specific memories based on the songs that they choose. Then add a relaxed conversation where we can call attention to a birthday, a milestone, or anything that would make your loved one perk up. It takes the premise of the M&M music therapy program but adds to it.