The benefit of music therapy goes far beyond rhythm and movement.
LOCATION: The Gardens at Kensington Health, Toronto, ON
LOCATION: The Gardens at Kensington Health, Toronto, ON
Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals – that’s a basic technical explanation.
What you likely won’t glean from that description though is the immense joy, relief and safety that the sound of live music brings to someone who lives in long-term care.
For Inky that sense of comfort and care became real the moment she walked into the Gardens at Kensington Health.
Inky says a feeling of “I’m home now” washed over her and with that, a deep appreciation for the full-time music therapy program she regularly attends. She loves playing the instruments and singing along to some of her favourite songs, but Inky says the benefit of the music therapy program goes far beyond rhythm and movement.
Inky has a short-term memory disorder. Near her bedside is a flurry of yellow post-it notes to help her keep track of her day, but these music sessions? They bypass all those notes and take her right back in time.
Because of her memory challenges, Inky requires 24-hour nursing and personal support care that her new home provides as part of Ontario’s publicly funded long-term care system.
When the group starts singing “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,” Inky tears up and says she feels like she’s a kid again. “It just takes me back to my childhood when I was happy. It was a song that we sang in public school together and being a kid is happy times. So, for a few minutes, all the other stuff goes away.”
There are 14 resident home areas (RHAs) at the Gardens at Kensington Health. Music therapists Sarah and Josh provide bi-weekly group sessions to all the RHAs. They also provide one-on-one music therapy sessions where they tailor music therapy interventions specifically for the resident with whom they’re working. This enhances a resident’s quality of life, helps to lessen their feelings of isolation and offers them relaxation and comfort.
Both are professionally trained in music therapy and work closely with nursing and recreation teams — a reminder that every resident’s well-being in long-term care is supported by a skilled and compassionate healthcare team.
Kensington Health says Sarah and Josh evolve the program with each new resident’s arrival. The full-time music therapy team also works with residents on original songwriting for legacy work – a deeply personal process that allows individuals to reflect on their lives, express meaningful memories, and leave behind a musical keepsake for their loved ones.
While these music sessions bring Inky a sense of comfort and safety, they have also helped her to build relationships within her new home.
“I had no idea about her passion for country music!” she says about one of the other residents attending music therapy class, “I had no idea she travelled so much to go see those concerts!”
For Inky, music therapy isn’t just another activity in her weekly calendar. It’s helping her to create chords of connection and awakening a sense of community in her new home.
And for the team at Kensington Health, stories like Inky’s show why investment in therapeutic and recreation programs in long-term care is essential — not just for entertainment, but for dignity, belonging and quality of life.