These precious moments - Music therapy as a significant and unique component of end-of-life care by Dr Cheryl Dileo

Music therapy can address a wide range of clinical needs in persons approaching the end of life, including physical, emotional, spiritual/existential, relational, familial, and social. Because of this, music therapists are being employed in hospice agencies with increasing frequency and serving as essential members of hospice treatment teams.

At the same time, hospice can be seen as a unique form of music therapy because of its levels of practice, the distinctive roles of the music therapist, the complexity of patients’ needs, the range of cultural and religious considerations, the unique music therapy methods used, the urgency of the work, the diverse theoretical underpinnings, the various settings for therapy, the situatedness of the patient within the family context, the uniqueness of transference, countertransference, and boundaries, the use of ritual, the unique ethical issues involved, and the need for therapist self-care.

This presentation will elaborate on some of these issues while making a case for the need for advanced, specialized training for music therapists working in hospice care. Using case examples and videos, a focus will be placed on music therapy to address patients’ and families’ relational, spiritual, and existential needs.

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