Blue Ridge Hospice - Music Therapy

What is Music Therapy?

Blue Ridge Hospice uses music to assist patients with other aspects of their life, including physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Some of the Basic Goals…
• Decrease Agitation
• Decrease Anxiety
• Compliment Pain Interventions
• Address Communication Needs
• Increase Quality of Life
• Facilitate Grieving
• Assist with Funeral Planning
• Improve Coping with Changes
• Decrease Nausea/Vomiting
• Address Depression
• Decrease Shortness of Breath
• Decrease Isolation/Loneliness
• Address Spiritual Needs

The Basic Interventions…
• Music imagery/relaxation
• Life Review through music
• Music Listening, Live/Recorded
• Songwriting
• Singing
• Playing Instruments
• Create a Musical Timeline

Blue Ridge Hospice employees 3 full-time music therapists and are all Board certified through the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). Our Music Therapists specialize in End-of-Life Care and provide services to approximately half of the patients we serve. They are an integral member of the interdisciplinary team and provide community education and outreach through bereavement offerings.

Music Therapy Internship Opportunities

Blue Ridge Hospice internship program was established March of 2006 and is designed to provide music therapy interns with a dynamic environment and will account for numerous opportunities for interns to apply music therapy skills. Interns have opportunities to observe professional music therapists and to co-facilitate sessions as well as conduct their own sessions with patients and families. Regular supervision, a variety of field experiences and special projects are integrated to provide a diverse experience for the intern. Interns may also be called upon to provide live music for a patient's funeral, or memorial service, as requested by the patient or family. While the main focus of the internship is to train music therapists to provide sessions to people with a terminal illness, there are opportunities to receive training in the Bereavement Department as well.

Interns should be proficient on guitar and demonstrate a basic repertoire in a variety of genres including: traditional, sacred, folk, and popular songs from all eras. Interns should also have knowledge of basic counseling skills and end-of-life care issues. A car is necessary to visit patients and interns will be compensated for mileage. An onsite interview and music audition is required; however, a video and phone interview may be substituted in special circumstances. Please note: Video music may not contain any client material. To begin the application process, please send an email or letter of interest.

For details, please contact:
Kristen Ashwood, MT-BC Internship Director
(800) 238-5678
musictherapy@blueridgehospice.org

Music Therapy Internship - Application (PDF/79K)

Music Therapy Internship - Training Manual (PDF/110K)

Coming this Spring Look for our Music Therapy Bereavement Kid's Group
"Jammin' Our Way Out Of The Blues"
For more information please contact:
Candice O’Malley at (540) 536-1064 or
by e-mail at comalley@blueridgehospice.org

Music Therapy Brochure (PDF/326K)

For more information, please contact:
Music Therapy Department
(540) 536-5210 or (800) 238-5678
musictherapy@blueridgehospice.org