Interdisciplinary collaboration in music therapy for persons with dementia-in practice and research:Model of learning for practitioners in dementia care with music therapy and interdisciplinary collaboration as the joint focal point

Abstract to the 9th European Congress of Music Therapy in Oslo 7 - 10 August 2013TitleModel of learning for practitioners in dementia care with music therapy and interdisciplinary collaboration as the joint focal point- With focus on enhancing quality of life and wellbeing for persons with dementiaThis presentation is based on a PhD research project in progress, which aims to develop a model of learning for practitioners in dementia care, which has music therapy as the joint focal point and focus on the relational meeting. Through development of an interdisciplinary collaboration between the music therapist and the care providers in connection with a course of music therapy, following areas will be elucidated: How can the musical and interpersonal competencies of the individual care provider be developed with the purpose to effect the relational meeting with persons suffering from dementia, in a way that the care provider is able to develop and transfer new knowledge and acquired skills to the daily nursing and care through the application of tangible tools from the musical activities? And further: What impact does the emphasis on development of the care provider’s musical and interpersonal competencies have on quality of life and well-being among persons suffering from dementia?The model of learning includes using the Dementia Care Mapping Method and the theoretical frame of reference for the project; e.g. theory of senses of self, forms of vitality, retrogenesis and the recent research on mirror neurons. Methodically the project is organized as a case study of a music therapy course, which includes process data, outcome data and follow-up data.Preliminary results indicate that the care providers are able to develop and transfer new knowledge and acquired skills to the daily nursing and care through the application of tangible tools from the musical activities.References: Brooker, D. og Surr, C. (2007). Dementia Care Mapping: Principper og praksis. Oversættelse og udgivelse: Danmarks Institut for Ældrepædagogik (Daniæ). 1.udgave. 1.oplag 2007.Nors, A., Ottesen, Aa. M. & Weberskov, B. (2009). Demens - den anden frekvens: Inspiration for pårørende (1. udgave). Kbh. Fænø Lighthouse Projects. Ridder, H.M. & Ottesen, Aa. M. (2012). Vitalitetsformer og spejlneuroner – anvendt i læringsmodel for professionelle omsorgsgivere. Tidsskriftet Dansk Musikterapi 9 (2), p. 3 – 13.Ridder, H. M. O., Wigram, T., & Ottesen, Aa. M. (2009). A pilot study on the effects of music therapy on frontotemporal dementia–developing a research protocol 1. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 18(2), 103-132. This contribution aims to give insight in what actually happens in clinical music therapy with people suffering from dementia. Starting from a psychodynamic point of view, the focus is laid on how musical improvisation can contribute to the development of a therapeutic relationship with this specific population. Findings from an ongoing phenomenological study on video-fragments of individual music therapy-sessions with people with dementia will be used to present important clinical phenomena. The advantages of a conceptualization of these phenomena for clinical work and the necessity of it for interdisciplinary collaboration will be illustrated