Music therapy can be used in hospice care to help patients manage pain and emotions. It aims to improve patients' physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being through interventions like music-assisted relaxation, familiar music to calm pain, songwriting to build legacy and express grief, and listening to shared music to reminisce and strengthen family bonds. Research shows music therapy can effectively help control pain levels and increase relaxation and comfort for hospice patients.

1. Music Therapy and Hospice
Music Therapy: evidence-based use of music interventions administered by a board-certified music
therapist with thefunction of achieving non-musical outcomestowardspatient treatment goals and
quality of life in the following domain areas:
Physical
 pain management through music-assisted relaxation
 familiar music to calm and distract from pain
 active music-listening
Emotional
 provide an outlet for emotional expression and grief work
 autobiographical memory-making through music
 songs of purpose and legacy-building through worksheets/songwriting
Social
 provides chances for inter-generational family/loved one interaction
 listening and reminiscing to shared songs of a cultural background
 facilitates opportunities for tender moments
Spiritual
 music to support a patient’s spirituality and/or religious background
 comfort through songs of various faith backgrounds or ideologies
 further legacy building through songwriting or lyric analysis
Further resources about music therapy in palliative and hospice care:
 www.musictherapy.org
 Hospice and PalliativeCare Music Therapy:A Guide to Program Development and Clinical Care
by Russell Hilliard
 The Effects of Single-Session Music Therapy Interventions on the Observed and Self Reported
Levels of Pain Control, Physical Comfort,and Relaxation of Hospice Patients by R. Krout.
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, 2001.
 Music Therapy for End-of-Life Care(Review) by J. Bradt and C. Dileo (2011). The Cochrane
Collaboration, Issue 3
Katie Just, MT-BC, Music Therapist-Board Certified
(405)613-4973
katiekyzer@gmail.com