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Let music therapy provide comfort

by Jesse Heilman, MT-BC, Music Therapist at Kansas City Hospice

Let music therapy provide comfort.

During this pandemic season, music helps with emotional expression, mind and body relaxation, connection to our loved ones, and overall well-being.

Listening to music with intention can create a space to help our emotions feel valid. Create playlists that center around themes such as hope, calm, joy or sadness. Use YouTube or music streaming services to create free playlists, which can be a helpful, creative project for self-awareness. Choose music that supports you.

Sometimes it helps to find music that speaks to us right where we are in a particular moment. For example, music can help us express something that otherwise might be difficult. It  can be the medium that provides a safe space for self-expression. Music allows us to show emotion in a way that may not otherwise come easily.

Support Well-Being

Using music to support our daily well-being may involve listening to upbeat, fast music to make us feel more alert and improve concentration as we begin the morning or work in the afternoon, or slower, relaxing music to quiet our minds and relax our muscles in the evening before sleeping. Remember, when you stress and hold tension, music can help you relax. Try incorporating light stretches, movement, or dancing with music to relax your body.

Don’t forget to be creative with music! Do you have an old guitar or a piano? Dust them off! Learning an instrument can be a great way to gain a new skill and enjoy making music with friends and loved ones. Explore opportunities for online lessons and videos to help you begin.

Play, stretch, dance or sing along with your favorite songs for some movement and expression. Remember, just like exercise, singing releases endorphins and feels good.

However you choose to do it, incorporating music into your daily routine in an intentional way can be beneficial for mental, emotional, social and physical well-being.

Jesse Heilman is a music therapist at Kansas City Hospice, providing comfort and support to patients, families, staff and volunteers. You may remember her from this year’s Circle of Lights and you can hear her sing on this video.

About Us

 
The mission of Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is to bring expert care, peace of mind, comfort, guidance, and hope to people who are affected by life-limiting illness or by grief. Our vision is that each person in our community is valued from life through death and each family is supported in their grief.

Posted in Luminary

One Comment on “Let music therapy provide comfort”

  1. Faraz Says:

    Music therapy is a powerful tool that can provide comfort to those who are in need. It offers a unique way to connect with one’s emotions and create a supportive environment. I think it’s wonderful that music therapy can be used to provide comfort and peacefulness to those who need it.
    https://yourmentalhealthpal.com/mental-health-and-music-therapy/

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Our Programs

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care provides comprehensive, expert care for all ages at all stages of serious illness.

Hospice Care

When the focus shifts to comfort instead of treatment, care comes to your home or nursing facility with a plan tailored to your needs, including emotional and spiritual support for the whole family.

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Hospice Care

Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is the community clinical site for the University of Kansas Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. We're committed to developing physicians with specialty-level training in caring for patients with serious or terminal illness.

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Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Community-Based Palliative Care

Beginning as early as diagnosis and at any stage of serious illness, our nurse practitioners make home visits as needed to help coordinate your care and provide expert pain and symptom management.

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Community-Based Palliative Care
Hospice House

Hospice House

When symptoms cannot be easily managed at home, two hospice houses provide 24/7 expert care in comfortable home-line settings where family members can be relieved of caregiving duties to focus on loved ones.

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Carousel Pediatric Care

Carousel provides palliative and hospice care for perinatal and for babies through young adults with a dedicated team of pediatric nurses, social workers, chaplains and other specialists.

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Carousel Pediatric Care
Solace House

Solace House

Our center for grief and healing supports individuals and families who have been impacted by the death of a loved one, whether anticipated, or sudden and unexpected. We provide opportunities to share, listen, learn and heal with peer group support from age 3 through adult.

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