Music-Thanatology: Providing Harmony at the End of Life
The mission of hospice providers is to help people live their last months or weeks of life in the most comfortable, dignified, and satisfying way possible. This worthy objective has become a passion of mine since the first time my family benefited from their care. However, one little-known hospice service was missing from our experience. It is called music-thanatology and is it the growing field of using music as an aid in the dying process.
According to the Music-Thanatology Association International, this practice “is a musical/clinical modality that unites music and medicine in end-of-life care. The music-thanatologist utilizes harp and voice at the bedside to lovingly serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the dying and their loved ones with prescriptive music.”
Jane Franz, Certified Music-Thanatologist (CM-Th) and co-author of From Behind the Harp: Music in End of Life Care, offers insights on how music can comfort dying patients and console mourning family members and how caregivers can seek out this service for a loved one.
How Music Influences the End-of-Life Experience: When someone you love is terminally ill, there are many complex emotions involved. The instinct to nurture and comfort them is intense, but it can be difficult to know…
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “For anyone having to walk the last segments of life with a loved one, read this.” …Delores
Support a caregiver or jump-start discussion in support groups with real stories – for bulk orders of Minding Our Elders e-mail Carol
