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

<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>

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

<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>

Les Enfants Perdus

Following the deaths of fourteen children at a children’s residential facility in Froissy in November 1968, a moment of national interest in France in the challenges facing disabled children led parents’ associations to press for systemic reform. Concomitantly, social critiques following the protests of May 1968 focused on poor institutional conditions as evidence of society’s failures. Though government inquiry into the incident placed the blame on the proprietors, media reports and advocates asserted the failure of the French government to protect the disabled. This viewpoint aligned with the rhetoric of reformers seeking to dismantle institutions to instigate social change. However, an alliance of reformers and parents’ groups did not materialize, even after the important reforms of the law of 30 June 1975. That law articulated the government’s commitment to the equality of disabled citizens, but it had limited impact due to its failure to address conditions for the mentally disabled.

Subjective Well-Being of Young People in Therapeutic Residential Care from a Gender Perspective

A growing body of research focus on subjective well-being (SWB) in adolescence; however there are few studies focus specifically on the residential care population and even fewer on differences by type of residential facility separately for males and females. This study aims to analyze SWB in therapeutic residential care (a residential program created to address youths with severe emotional and behavioral problems) in relation to young people in other kinds of residential child care (RCC). 567 adolescents aged 14-18 from Therapeutic Residential Care (TRC) (n=256) and RCC (n=311) participated in the study. Results showed few significant differences concerning the residential program factor. Satisfaction with their own family was greater for young people in TRC and satisfaction, both with the groups they belong to and with their own residential facility, rated higher among the RCC group. Regarding differences by sex, females reported less SWB in all the domains including overall life satisfaction. The effect of the interaction between sex and type of residential program showed that females in TRC reported SWB, particularly low. The main implications for research and intervention will be discussed.

COVID-19 risk: Adult Medicaid beneficiaries with autism, intellectual disability, and mental health conditions

Adults on the autism spectrum and those with intellectual disability or mental health conditions may be at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing more severe illness if infected. We identified risk factors for COVID-19 among adults enrolled in Medicaid with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, intellectual disability, or mental health conditions. We examined adults ages 20–64 years with 9-month continuous enrollment over 2008–2012 using Medicaid Analytic eXtract data. There were 83,150 autistic adults and 615,607 adults with intellectual disability meeting inclusion criteria; of a random sample of 1 million beneficiaries without autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability, 35.3% had any mental health condition. Beneficiaries on the spectrum, those with intellectual disability, and those with mental health conditions all had higher odds of risk factors for becoming infected with COVID-19 (living in a residential facility, receiving services in the home from outside caregivers, having had a long hospitalization, and having had avoidable hospitalizations) and higher odds of comorbidities associated with severe illness from COVID-19. Clinicians should anticipate high prevalence of comorbidities and risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19 among these populations. Health officials and non-governmental organizations should target these groups with outreach for the COVID-19 vaccine and support continued efforts for appropriate mitigation measures. Lay abstract Autistic adults, adults with intellectual disability, and adults with other mental health conditions may have higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing more severe illness from COVID-19 if infected. We used data from Medicaid to look at whether autistic adults and other adults with intellectual disability and other mental health conditions were more likely to have risk factors for COVID-19, such as living in a residential facility, receiving services regularly in the home from outside caregivers, having had a long hospitalization, having had avoidable hospitalizations, and having high-risk health conditions. We found that autistic adults had higher odds of living in a residential facility, receiving in-home services from outside caregivers, having had an avoidable hospitalization, and having a high-risk health condition, compared to neurotypical adults without mental health conditions. Adults with intellectual disability had similar odds of having these conditions. Adults with other mental health conditions were also more likely to live in a residential facility, receive services from outside caregivers, and have had avoidable hospitalizations compared to the neurotypical population without mental health conditions. They had three times higher odds of having a high-risk health condition. High risk of COVID-19 among autistic adults and adults with intellectual disability and mental health conditions should be recognized by clinicians, and these groups should be prioritized for vaccine outreach.

From Breath to Beadwork: Lessons Learned From a Trauma- Informed Yoga Series With Indigenous Adolescent Girls Under Youth Protection

This paper explores the promising practice of an emerging culturally adapted, trauma-informed yoga program for Indigenous adolescent girls. I draw from my experiential learning during a series of 12 yoga sessions over 2018 and 2019 with eight Indigenous girls (ages 13–17) from rural and remote Inuit communities in Quebec, Canada. Participants had experienced varying degrees of child maltreatment and interaction with the child welfare system, and they were all under the care of youth protection services in a residential facility. The yoga and mindfulness intervention provided weekly 60-minute sessions in the residential unit. Yoga sessions integrated a blended model of cultural teachings, group dialogue, and trauma-informed yoga. The approach included circle sharing, cultural teachings, gentle progressions of physical postures, guided meditation, breathing techniques, centring practices, and beadwork. This promising practice explores trauma-informed yoga as a strengths-based community strategy for relational healing that promotes cultural connectedness, safety, and resilience among Indigenous adolescent girls removed from their rural and remote communities to a residential facility in an urban area. This paper outlines an introductory framework for health professionals, paraprofessionals, program administrators, and staff working with Indigenous children and youth in residential facilities. Specifically, this promising practice builds on existing findings of trauma-informed yoga with adolescents, as well as movement and centring approaches through an Indigenous lens of relational healing.