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Henry Drehner's Use Of Music Therapy

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Henry Dreher, a 94 year old nursing home resident of 10 years, struggled with basic tasks that many people tend to take for granted. His advanced Alzheimer’s greatly limited his mobility and cognition. He frequently failed to remember the names of his children and, even when asked the simplest of questions, could barely interact with the staff and family that cared for him. Much of the time, Henry would simply slump over in his chair, unable or unwilling to move or speak. However, this seemingly impregnable fog of dementia could be pierced with what many would consider an enjoyable but ultimately frivolous source of entertainment: an iPod. When exposed to the songs of his youth for the first time in a decade, Henry immediately began singing …show more content…

Henry’s story did not involve the use of music therapy as no music therapist was present. According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy involves science backed techniques practiced by licensed professionals with at least a bachelor’s degrees in music therapy and 1200 hours of separate training(2014). Music therapists may implement a variety of different techniques to treat a patient, but the term “music therapist” only applies to board certified clinicians. In other words, the proverbial well-meaning group of teenagers with guitars are not conducting music therapy during their interactions with patients. However, mere exposure to music has a host of medically pertinent benefits and therefore is worth evaluating when discussing possible Alzheimer’s treatments ( Novotney, …show more content…

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by an accumulation of proteins that leads to the formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain (“Alzheimer’s Disease”, 2015). These masses of misfolded proteins weaken and kill neurons starting in the hippocampus, the part of the brain most commonly associated with memory. Over 5 million people in the United States are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and some sources estimate that it represents the third leading cause of death in the country (“Alzheimer’s Disease”, 2015). However, while the erosion of cognitive faculties brought on by Alzheimer’s is steady and irreversible, not all of these mental abilities disappear at the same rate. According to some recent studies, the abilities to understand and create music might be the last to succumb to Alzheimer’s (Maguire,

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