‘Great red anemone and its beautiful black pollens’: On tele-drama therapy sessions with older adults in times of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Kordova ◽  
Shoshi Keisari
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Drama Therapy ◽  
Therapy Sessions

scholarly journals Effects of Dance Therapy on Balance and Risk of Falls in Older Persons

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 234-235
Author(s):  
Esha Chakravarty ◽  
Indrani Chakravarty ◽  
Ipsito Chakravarty ◽  
Prasenjit Bhattacharjee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Dance Therapy ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Risk Of Falls ◽  
Day Care Centres ◽  
Therapy Sessions

Abstract Loss of balance and risk of falls is a major problem in older persons. Literature shows increasing use of yoga practices and dance therapy across Indian oldage homes and day care centres to improve balance and reduce risk of falls in older persons. Aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of dance therapy with focus on therapeutic movements derived from Indian classical dances on balance and risk of falls in older adults of Day Care Centres in Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India. Total of 24 older adults across 2 day care centres participated in the study attending dance therapy sessions for 3 months. All of them self reported problems of balance and repeated falls alongwith difficulties in performing Activities of Daily Living. Twenty one of them were females and 3 males. The mean age of the participants was 75.5 years. Limits of Stabililty (LOS) was used to measure balance and pre tests and post tests were performed. Results showed that the Limits of Stability were significantly higher (17.5%) in older persons after participating in the dance therapy sessions. This study supports that dance therapy using movements derived from Indian classical dance forms can support older persons to function with reduced risk of falls, improved balance, safely carry out mobility tasks and perform better Activities of Daily Living . Further studies can show how dance therapy can facilitate healthy ageing and influence State policies on healthy ageing.

Telehealth Music Therapy Services in the United States With Older Adults: A Descriptive Study

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Wilhelm ◽  
Kyle Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Therapy Services ◽  
Therapy Sessions

Abstract In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many music therapists in the United States turned to telehealth music therapy sessions as a strategy to continue services with older adults. However, the nature and perception of telehealth music therapy services for this age group are unknown. The purpose of this study was to describe music therapy telehealth practices with older adults in the United States including information related to session implementation, strengths and challenges, and adaptations to clinical practice. Of the 110 participants in the United States who responded to the survey (25.2% response rate), 69 reported implementing telehealth music therapy services with older adults and responded to a 32-item survey. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. Results indicated that while all participants had provided telehealth music therapy for no more than 6 months, their experiences with telehealth varied. Based on participant responses, telehealth session structure, strengths, challenges, and implemented changes are presented. Overall, 48% of music therapists reported that they planned to continue telehealth music therapy with older adults once pandemic restrictions are lifted. Further study on the quality, suitability, and acceptability of telehealth services with older adults is recommended.

scholarly journals The Use of Improvisation in a Student’s Music Therapy Practice with Older Adults in a Residential Setting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Luke Stothart
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Residential Facility ◽  
Residential Setting ◽  
Residential Settings ◽  
Analytic Process ◽  
Therapy Sessions

<p>As shown in the research literature, improvisation is a less common approach to music therapy practice than the use of familiar songs or group singing when working with elderly people in residential settings. This research explores the ways in which improvisation in music therapy could benefit elderly participants in a residential setting. A secondary analytic process was conducted involving a careful analysis of existing clinical data by the student music therapy researcher. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings consisted of three core themes which captured the ways in which improvisation was included in music therapy sessions: these were improvisational approaches described as anchoring, reflecting and dialogue. These core themes were strongly influenced by writings on improvisation method by the late Tony Wigram. Results showed improvisation has potential in its use among older adults in a residential facility. Conclusions could be used to help other elderly residential facilities that are willing to implement similar models of practice.</p>

Drama therapy in late life: Taking life-story work one step further

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-36
Author(s):  
Dovrat Harel ◽  
Shoshi Keisari
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Group Process ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Drama Therapy ◽  
Psychological Development ◽  
Unfinished Business ◽  
Integrative View ◽  
One Step ◽  
Story Work

Integrating life-story work with drama therapy creates new opportunities for the psychological development of older adults. In this conceptual article we suggest five qualities of dramatic reality by which this integration can promote psychological development in old age: its ability (1) to evoke a story, (2) to bring together the personal and the collective, (3) to help in processing unfinished business, (4) to create an integrative view of the self and (5) to open the way to imagining the future. We illustrate each of the five qualities using vignettes from our previous research in the field and show how exploring the life stories of older adults through dramatic reality provides opportunities for active self-exploration in the ‘here and now’ of the group process in a way that goes beyond verbal life-story work.

scholarly journals The Use of Improvisation in a Student’s Music Therapy Practice with Older Adults in a Residential Setting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Luke Stothart
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Residential Facility ◽  
Residential Setting ◽  
Residential Settings ◽  
Analytic Process ◽  
Therapy Sessions

<p>As shown in the research literature, improvisation is a less common approach to music therapy practice than the use of familiar songs or group singing when working with elderly people in residential settings. This research explores the ways in which improvisation in music therapy could benefit elderly participants in a residential setting. A secondary analytic process was conducted involving a careful analysis of existing clinical data by the student music therapy researcher. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings consisted of three core themes which captured the ways in which improvisation was included in music therapy sessions: these were improvisational approaches described as anchoring, reflecting and dialogue. These core themes were strongly influenced by writings on improvisation method by the late Tony Wigram. Results showed improvisation has potential in its use among older adults in a residential facility. Conclusions could be used to help other elderly residential facilities that are willing to implement similar models of practice.</p>

Drama therapy and older adults: From waiting in the wings to crossing centre stage

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Jennie Smith-Peers ◽  
Andrew M. Gaines
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Drama Therapy

A theatrical evidence-based cognitive intervention for older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22
Author(s):  
Tony Noice ◽  
Helga Noice
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Cognitive Intervention ◽  
Drama Therapy ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Data Comparison

This article describes a 35-year program devoted to determining the cognitive learning strategies of professional actors and then using those strategies to lower the risk factors for dementia in older adults. Details of a series of successful evidence-based theatrical interventions are provided along with the identification of areas in which our work directly overlaps drama therapy research. The methods involved in this endeavour include protocol analysis, behavioural testing and pre- and post-intervention data comparison. Most recently, these results have been verified by neuroscientists using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). It is hoped that drama therapists will find elements of this program that will be applicable to their work with older adults.

scholarly journals Raising the Curtain on Drama Therapy: Healing Benefits for Youth and Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50
Author(s):  
Vanessa Boila ◽  
Lanette Klettke ◽  
Stephanie Quong ◽  
Ciara Gerlitz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Drama Therapy ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Behavioural Difficulties ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Normative Aging ◽  
Dramatic Arts

The vast majority of people around the world have been exposed to dramatic arts in some way, shape, or form, but only recently has drama therapy been accepted as a therapeutic treatment for individuals across the lifespan. This paper provides a general introduction to drama therapy and some of the techniques (e.g., role playing and storytelling) employed in its delivery and hands-on practice. In addition, the paper explores how drama therapy has been used to treat young people (approximately 10-17 years old) who have autism and/or social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties, and older adults (approximately 60-90 years old) who are experiencing normative or non-normative aging. The findings presented here suggest drama therapy may be an efficacious, healing treatment for a myriad of age groups. For instance, its positive effects on individuals with dementia have been observed, and an assortment of intra- and inter-personal improvements have been documented in youth. Considering drama therapy is still a growing field, less drama therapy research exists in comparison to its alternative treatments.

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