Music Therapy: A holiday lifeline for hospital patients

Music therapist Caitlin Matters (left) running Reef Rhythms with patient James and his mother.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But the festive season can be a time of isolation and distress for some of our hospitalised patients. One of the ways that has been proven to uplift patients’ moods is through music therapy.

Music therapy is used to help people who experience conditions that affect mood, thinking, behaviour, communication and movement, such as autism, mental illness, physical disabilities, dementia, stroke, neurodegenerative conditions and more.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘Arts interventions are often low-risk, highly cost-effective, integrated and holistic treatment options for complex health challenges to which there are no current solutions.’ 

At Monash Health, Music Therapy is offered in individual and group sessions, which are tailored according to patient needs.  

For example, the Monash Children’s Hospital Cancer Centre has been running weekly Reef Rhythms sessions since September 2024. These sessions offer music, stories, and interactive activities for patients aged 3 to 6, their siblings, and their carers. 

Caitlin Matters, Music Therapist and group facilitator says participants can have their procedures, attend their appointments, and readily access the sessions in whatever capacity they wish. 

‘It has been fantastic to observe participants sharing their ideas, singing, dancing, giggling, and engaging with each other. This age group is very active,’ she says.

Over at the Kingston Centre, the team has been running a Mood and Agitation Management group across the Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) wards every week to support patients with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. 

‘Through the use of active and receptive music therapy methods such as therapeutic familiar song singing, music listening and reminiscence, instrument-playing, and music and movement, Music Therapy has been effective in reducing patient levels of agitation, wandering, and anxiety and improving mood, engagement, and attention,’ says Senior Music Therapist Jaye Thompson.

A Monash Health staff member says the targeted group sessions provided our patients with a positive distraction from negative thoughts and emotions.

‘It elevated the patients’ mood, helped relieve their anxiety about being in the hospital, and stimulated music memories.’

‘Music allowed the patients to have a sense of control over their often-confusing environment,’ says another staff member.

Music Therapy has also established a new employee-focused wellbeing service in partnership with People and Culture. The program aims to improve employee wellbeing through music therapy strategies provided by a Registered Music Therapist. It will be rolled out in early 2025 and operate across the organisation. 

The Growing Role of Music Therapy

More and more hospital networks are adopting models of care that include music therapy, an evidence-based allied health profession. At Monash Health, we see the vital role our music therapists play in supporting health, offering emotional and physical support to assist coping and recovery when patients need it most.

Music Therapy at Monash Health provides clinical services to patients, clients and families across the lifespan at 10 sites spanning our inpatient, outpatient, community health and mental health settings. These include intensive care, oncology, rehabilitation, general medicine, geriatric evaluation and management, palliative and supportive care, mental health, trauma, and family violence. 

There are currently 15 Registered Music Therapists working across Monash Health. 

Music Therapy services operate within 4 larger programs at Monash Health – Allied Health Adult Inpatient Care, Monash Children’s Hospital, Community Health Services, and Mental Health Services. 

A high-level site/service breakdown can be viewed below.

Thank you to the Music Therapy team for bringing notes of joy and comfort to our patients when they need it most!