Bereavement Professional

  • 1.  Music therapy services in bereavement care

    Posted 06-22-2023 01:50 PM
    Edited by Rhonda Miller 06-22-2023 04:18 PM

    Hello all,

    I have been working in hospice care as a music therapist for nearly ten years.  I am interested in exploring with my hospice agency the possibility of expanding music therapy services into bereavement care.  Hoping others here might be willing to share about their experiences with this or direct me to resources that would be helpful in demonstrating how this works and what it looks like for other hospices.



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    Rhonda Miller (she/her/hers)
    Music Therapist
    Iowa City Hospice
    Iowa City, Iowa
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  • 2.  RE: Music therapy services in bereavement care

    Posted 06-23-2023 11:57 AM

    We have dabbled with music therapy in bereavement.

    1. Bereavement workshop:  Music, self-care, and coping.  We had the music therapist guide a 90-minute in-person workshop (with a bereavement counselor present) guiding a few interventions, such as a drum circle and other creative expression exercise.  Then the music therapist provided a handout and explained creative ways to use music to cope after a death.
    2. Memorial service:  We try to involve a music therapist during our bi-annual memorial services.


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    Kristen Emerson, LCSW
    Bereavement Counselor | Bon Secours Hospice | Richmond | VA
    kristen_emerson@bshsi.org | 804-433-4710
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Music therapy services in bereavement care

    Posted 06-26-2023 09:28 AM
    Thank you for your response.  Our music therapists are also involved in the bi-annual memorial services.  I like the idea of assisting with a grief workshop as well and would imagine that our bereavement counselor would welcome an offer like this.  

    Rhonda 

    Rhonda Miller (she/her/hers)
    Music Therapist
    Iowa City Hospice
    Office: 319.688.4202




    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Music therapy services in bereavement care

    Posted 06-26-2023 11:27 AM

    Our music therapists work closely with our bereavement team on the annual memorial service. They are an integral part of our weekend long family bereavement camps and help grievers of all ages find expression in so many creative ways.  The kids at each camp write a camp song and then share it with the parents/adults. So incredible to watch the healing and transformation.   

    Ricki Ray, MTS, CBC, MHC

    Hospice & Palliative Bereavement Counselor

    Sun City West, AZ 85375

    Cell  602-694-8808

    ricki.ray@bannerhealth.com 



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    Ricki Ray, MTS, CBC
    Bereavement Counselor
    Banner Health Hospice
    Sun City, Arizona
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Music therapy services in bereavement care

    Posted 06-29-2023 11:10 AM

    (cross-posted in the IRT community)

    Hi Rhonda,

    Thanks so much for starting this conversation! One of the ways we grew our music therapy presence at Penn Medicine Hospice was through the bereavement department. I started as a part time hospice music therapist and part time adult bereavement coordinator in 2014. When the census grew, I went full time as a bereavement coordinator and we hired a hospice music therapist. Now we have three hospice music therapists, and three of our bereavement coordinators are also master's level music therapists (including myself). Our music therapists who serve as bereavement coordinators make individual visits, do routine bereavement calls, and run support groups, in addition to providing musical support for rituals like the Service of Remembrance. In the bereavement department we are fortunate to have a multi-disciplinary group of colleagues, including LCSWs and chaplains.

    Please feel free to reach out directly if you'd like to talk further!

    Molly



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    Molly G. Hicks, MMT, MT-BC, FT (she/her)
    Bereavement Coordinator
    Penn Medicine Hospice
    Bala Cynwyd, PA
    Integrative & Rehabilitation Therapies Community Leader, MyNHPCO
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    Original Message


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