Music therapy soothes, offers patients a way to communicate

Friday, Nov. 06, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Music therapists Sherry Bube and Kristen King use instrumental and vocal music to bring comfort to those suffering from nonthreatening medical issues as well as to those who have terminal illnesses.

Music therapists work with a variety of people, from infants to the elderly and dying; they work in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, hospices and schools. They tailor the therapy on an individual basis to promote wellness and physical rehabilitation. 

“We also work with autistic children, children with learning disabilities, adults with trauma and Alzheimer’s disease,” said King.

Rather than being about the therapist performing, the therapy session is about the patients forming a relationship with music in a way that will help them reach their goals, said King.

“If a patient is in pain we often use receptive therapy; we find out the patients’ favorite music and guide them through progressive relaxation,” said Bube. “We put together their own play list that will support them in working through pain from where they are to where they want to be.” 

Another option is active music therapy – improvisational music, which allows patients to have control over the situation. They choose what instruments to use, how it should sound, how the therapist should play, what to sing about, and “many times the music they create helps us bridge over into deeper discussions or exploration of needs,” Bube said.

Children who are hospitalized for long periods or have to return every few months because of an illness sometimes “don’t always know how to express emotions,” said King. “We can address that with music.” 

With terminally ill children, the music therapists help with coping skills, self-expression, pain management and bonding with family and loved ones they will leave behind. 

For example, a child who is terminally ill could say, ‘This is a bad day, I’m not feeling well,’” Bube said. “I’ll work with them and find out where they want to be at the end of the session – feeling OK, energized, or relaxed. They assist in creating music therapy interventions by playing the piano or guitar; drums usually get them energized. Then we process how they feel. This helps us to identify where they are; a lot of emotions can be displayed this way.”  

Music therapists “pay attention to vital signs, oxygen and heartbeat, and adjust the music to meet the patient’s needs,” said King, who majored in professional music and song writing and is working toward a master’s degree in music therapy. Like Bube, she came to Utah and to Primary Children’s Medical Center to complete a 1,200-hour clinical internship. “The music connects them to something that is more normal in their life than the medical environment. We integrate family members as much as we can because parents sometimes forget how to interact with their child in the hospital; their child to them now is very fragile and vulnerable, but music allows them to bond.”

Bube worked with infants who were dying or could not survive outside of the hospital.

“Death looks different for each person,” Bube said. “There are the five stages of grief that people typically go through, but music is a constant in life from in utero to death. The music acts as a processing tool for the parents; we use the traditional lullabies and ask the parents to sing along. Children respond well to their parents’ voices; we encourage parents to stroke or gently touch their child in rhythm to the song while we watch the child’s vital signs and adjust the music to best support him or her.” 

Music therapists also write original lullabies using the parents’ words which allows them a form of emotional bonding with their child; they have the lullaby as a remembrance if the child passes away. 

“Sometimes we are asked to be present while the child is actively dying to pray the lullaby and provide the emotional support. Music is important to the family as a way of coming together in their different ways of sorrow; some cry, others are silent, but they join together in song,” Bube said.  

Bube’s love for music and serving others led her to music therapy, she said because it’s creative and artistic, clinical and scientific; it brings together her creative and intellectual sides.  

King, who works with children who have a variety of issues, feels thankful that she is a therapist when someone is dying, she said. “Music is an incredible thing to offer to support somebody,” she said. “Dying is a very privileged thing to be a part of; it’s also very sad and very hard.”