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Doctors used music instead of medication:
Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have piloted a music therapy approach called MELODIC, across two NHS dementia wards.
More alternatives to psychotropic medication are needed to support dementia patients who experience severe distress.
The pilot study involved a music therapist being embedded on hospital wards, the delivery of clinical music sessions and the implementation of musical care plans for each patient, and results from the research have now been published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Music therapy, delivered by trained therapists, can include singing, playing or listening to music. The therapist can also identify specific ways that music can be used by families and carers in an individual's daily care routine.
During the study, patient data suggested a slight improvement in quality-of-life scores among patients and a reduction in the severity of distress symptoms and disruptiveness, although agitation scores increased slightly.
There were no increases in routinely reported incidents, and no adverse events related to music therapy interventions were reported. This is relevant for future research on mental health dementia wards where limited studies have been conducted to date.
Lead author Naomi Thompson, a researcher at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: "People with dementia on inpatient mental health wards are often experiencing very high levels of distress, and staff are under immense pressure to manage this in ways that are safe and compassionate.
"Our study yielded promising results and importantly showed that the MELODIC tool can be used effectively in these highly complex settings, giving an alternative option to current ways of managing severe distress, such as psychotropic medication."
Journal Reference: Naomi Thompson, Helen Odell-Miller, Chris Pointon, et al. Music therapy embedded in the life of dementia inpatient care to help prevent and manage distress: a feasibility study to inform a future trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2025; 16 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1618324
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 25, @08:49PM (3 children)
At some level music therapy has been available in memory care (dementia) wards in USA nursing homes for many years. I know (slightly) a woman who does the therapy, she works in several different nursing homes that are all owned by the same company (part time in each different facility). I think she mostly plays recorded music, but may also do sing alongs.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Friday July 25, @09:04PM (1 child)
The thing about live music is that it stimulates all kinds of pathways that recordings don't. Mirror neurons, social empathy, imperfections - all do something very different than just listening to "Barbara Ann" for the 9,000th time.
🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 25, @10:09PM
> listening to "Barbara Ann" for the 9,000th time.
listening to "409" for the 9,000th time still gets my adrenaline going, just say'n.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Saturday July 26, @02:50AM
It's been used outside the US as well for a long time, depending on what you class as "music therapy". The form typically used here is to have someone come in a few times a week, play the piano, and conduct sing-alongs. Seems to cheer people up quite a bit.