Providing music therapy for people with dementia in an acute mental health setting

As global figures for dementia are set to rise significantly, there has been a shift towards using non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy to enhance the quality of life for people with the condition. Research into music therapy interventions for this patient group in acute mental health inpatient settings, however, is limited. This article describes a service evaluation that explored whether group music therapy was effective for people with dementia in such settings. Open group music therapy sessions were hosted weekly in two acute wards and the researchers examined the social and behavioural outcomes of participants pre and post-intervention. The results indicated that music therapy significantly improved patient outcomes following participation. The outcome measure developed for this service evaluation was found to be a reliable tool for measuring the effectiveness of music therapy on patient outcomes.