MHA Laurel Court, in Didsbury, held an open music therapy session on Thursday 26th September to highlight the positive impact music therapy has on its residents who are living with dementia. The home offers music therapy as part on its ongoing care to help improve residents’ quality of life, even during the most advanced stages of the condition.

This event took place as part of MHA’s national My Moment of Joy campaign. MHA aims to make more people aware of the power music therapy has for alleviating symptoms such as agitation, depression and frustration, unlocking ‘lost’ memories and reconnecting with loved ones. Music therapy can help to lift the fog which dementia creates and improve the quality of life for individuals, as well as helping with ongoing care.

The open session kicked off at 2pm with a presentation from the home’s qualified music therapist, Vicky Turner, who spoke in-detail about how music therapy works, the scientific data behind it and how it is person-centred so that every one-to-one session is tailored to the individual’s needs.

The residents then joined the music therapist along with family members, staff and guests from the local community in a room where they all felt safe and comfortable, ready for the group music therapy session to begin.

Music therapists will use group sessions to help identify residents whom they believe would benefit from the one-to-one sessions as these have the most benefit for someone living with dementia due to being person-centred. Feedback from an individual session is given to care staff so they can use this on a day-to-day basis, such as a piece of music which has a calming effect.

Soon after the group session begun, residents were joining in – those that rarely speak were soon singing along and others were shaking their maracas or tambourines to the beat. While some reactions are much harder to see – they may, for example, just involve the tapping of a foot or a smile but all responses have an extremely powerful effect on residents, relatives and carers.

Music Therapist, Vicky Turner, said “I have the best job in the world, I get to see first-hand the amazing impact music can have on people who are living with dementia. The group that I do here at Laurel Court really brings people together, both residents and staff and is great fun. Music therapy is so accessible, especially for people with dementia where other forms of communication may have been lost.”

Home Manager, Alison Greenall, added “We had a fabulous day on Thursday for the open group music therapy session – Vicky was amazing. Everyone enjoyed themselves, from the residents to the staff and relatives who came to watch.”