A Good Alternative
When Bette Bitter tells people that she’s a therapeutic musician, “they look at me like I just fell off a turnip truck!” Then they hear her play her harp and any skepticism of the healing properties of music fades away. “The harp resonates more than any other instrument,” she explains. “When you play the strings, you can hear this vibration that sends endorphins to the brain that make you feel good.”
Alternative healing modalities, like therapeutic music, are increasingly used to complement traditional medicine. At Stella Maris, music and massage are now integral to the holistic approach to care provided to patients in their time of transition. For those requiring hospice and their families, it is understandably an emotional time when anxiety, fear and sadness are commonplace. Therapies like music and massage bring a sense of calm to the room.
“Our goal in hospice is to facilitate a peaceful, good death,” states Lisa Stone, Senior Vice President of Outreach Services. “The purpose of these alternative therapies is to provide peace and comfort during this transitional time.”
Bitter is a trained pianist who first picked up the harp during her course work at Mercy Medical Center in the Music for Healing and Transition Program (MHTP), which certifies music practitioners to serve the dying and critically or chronically ill. She comes to Stella Maris each Friday to play one-on-one at patient bedsides, particularly for those who are agitated. The music is designed for its therapeutic properties. For example, Bitter might play to a particular tempo to encourage a patient to calm his breathing. She also plays arrhythmically, a tonal form of play that is soothing without being as disruptive as a recognizable melody.
“I don’t sit and play a prelude of music or ‘Amazing Grace,’” she explains. “I watch the patient and play to his or her needs, paying attention to their reactions. It’s not about the music, it’s about the patient.”
Harp therapy is supported by the Hospice Care Fund, which is financed through charitible contributions. Other alternative therapies are possible thanks to certified hospice volunteers like Sheila Kegg, a massage therapist. Kegg has volunteered at Stella Maris for nearly 16 years, providing a gentle, modified form of massage to those in hospice. She will also give shoulder rubs to strained visiting family members. The nursing staff calls upon Kegg when a patient exhibits signs of anxiety that might be alleviated by gentle rubbing and pressure. Although there are pain management benefits to the massage, the main purpose is to provide respite and relaxation.
“You would be surprised, but people shy away fromtouching a dying person,” she explains, “and yet the human touch is so important. Just knowing that someone cares enough to be there and touch and hold them is important.”
Alternative therapies are not a replacement for the advanced medical care already provided by Stella Maris, but they do work in concert with traditional hospice to bring added peace and dignity to the dying. There is a level of humanity introduced by music or massage that cannot be replicated by pain medication. Bitter notes that her harp playing often provides an important moment of release for family members, too. “When I start to play, the family expresses a lot of emotion,” she recalls. “It takes everyone to the next level of acceptance.”
Alternative healing modalities, like therapeutic music, are increasingly used to complement traditional medicine. At Stella Maris, music and massage are now integral to the holistic approach to care provided to patients in their time of transition. For those requiring hospice and their families, it is understandably an emotional time when anxiety, fear and sadness are commonplace. Therapies like music and massage bring a sense of calm to the room.
“Our goal in hospice is to facilitate a peaceful, good death,” states Lisa Stone, Senior Vice President of Outreach Services. “The purpose of these alternative therapies is to provide peace and comfort during this transitional time.”
Bitter is a trained pianist who first picked up the harp during her course work at Mercy Medical Center in the Music for Healing and Transition Program (MHTP), which certifies music practitioners to serve the dying and critically or chronically ill. She comes to Stella Maris each Friday to play one-on-one at patient bedsides, particularly for those who are agitated. The music is designed for its therapeutic properties. For example, Bitter might play to a particular tempo to encourage a patient to calm his breathing. She also plays arrhythmically, a tonal form of play that is soothing without being as disruptive as a recognizable melody.
“I don’t sit and play a prelude of music or ‘Amazing Grace,’” she explains. “I watch the patient and play to his or her needs, paying attention to their reactions. It’s not about the music, it’s about the patient.”
Harp therapy is supported by the Hospice Care Fund, which is financed through charitible contributions. Other alternative therapies are possible thanks to certified hospice volunteers like Sheila Kegg, a massage therapist. Kegg has volunteered at Stella Maris for nearly 16 years, providing a gentle, modified form of massage to those in hospice. She will also give shoulder rubs to strained visiting family members. The nursing staff calls upon Kegg when a patient exhibits signs of anxiety that might be alleviated by gentle rubbing and pressure. Although there are pain management benefits to the massage, the main purpose is to provide respite and relaxation.
“You would be surprised, but people shy away fromtouching a dying person,” she explains, “and yet the human touch is so important. Just knowing that someone cares enough to be there and touch and hold them is important.”
Alternative therapies are not a replacement for the advanced medical care already provided by Stella Maris, but they do work in concert with traditional hospice to bring added peace and dignity to the dying. There is a level of humanity introduced by music or massage that cannot be replicated by pain medication. Bitter notes that her harp playing often provides an important moment of release for family members, too. “When I start to play, the family expresses a lot of emotion,” she recalls. “It takes everyone to the next level of acceptance.”
