Ep. 030 | Music Engagement in Memory Care
Today, we chat with guest, Marta Street, a Sales Manager for Brookdale Senior Living and Certified Senior Advisor, about why she advocates for music therapy in memory care settings.
RESOURCES
Teepa's Gems by Teepa Snow
The 36-Hour Day: A family guide by Nancy Mace
Creating Moments of Joy by Jolene Brackey
TRANSCRIPT
Erica: Welcome, friends! You’re listening to The Feeling is Musical — as presented by the Snohomish County Music Project. My name is Erica Lee, and today, we are talking about music engagement in memory care, with Marta Street, sales manager for Brookdale Alderwood, a Clare Bridge community.
With over 20 years of experience, Marta is the sales manager for Brookdale Senior Living, and a certified senior advisor. She believes that people with all types of dementia and their families deserve the utmost respect and dignified help. Additionally, Marta is a closet musician, and finds that music spans all generations and abilities.
[Podcast intro music plays]
Erica: Hi, Marta, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for being here.
Marta: Thanks for having me.
Erica: Absolutely. I am excited to have this conversation with you because a lot of this podcast is talking to other music therapists, and I think you’re the first person on the podcast that is not a music therapist - besides me I guess, ‘cause I’m always on the podcast.
[Marta chuckles]
Erica: But um, I’m excited to hear about your perspective. We’ve um been collaborating - working together for what feels like a long time, and I know that you have been to programming the music therapists have done with residents, so you’ve seen it first hand - and what happens So —
Marta: Back in your early days —
Erica: I know. When I first started —
Marta: Of memory café.
Erica: Yeah.
Marta: Yeah.
Erica: How’d you originally find out about music therapy? What was your introduction to it?
Marta: You had a couple of interns - um, this is probably - I don’t know - 4 years ago maybe?
Erica: Mmm.
Marta: 3-4 years ago. And they just showed up on my doorstep —
Erica: They did —?
Marta: And said, hey, we wanna tell you about this program - the memory café. And, uh, the more I heard about it, the more excited I got. I had a guitar in my hand since I was 5 years old, and, you know, music can just touch so many different parts of people’s not only their brain, but their heart and their soul. You know, I’ve used music to get a message across in so many different ways over the years. And so yeah, I’m pretty passionate about what music can do for folk. So, the rest is history!
Erica: And for those that don’t know, Memory Café - ‘cause we’re probably gonna reference it quite a few times - is a program where caregivers and their loved ones with any kinda memory loss condition can come - we do a shared meal - and then we do an hour of community music therapy. And Brookdale has been bringing residents to memory café for at least like 3 years I think? Um —
Marta: Mmhmm —
Erica: And it’s just - it’s a party every time.
[Marta chuckles ]
Erica: And there’s so much good social connect that happens in Memory Café. Brookdale has been really a strong partner in sponsoring Memory Café - in being supportive of our music therapy programming. Can you describe for listeners, who is Brookdale? Can you tell us about the residents that you have at your facility? What it is that maybe you do within the scope of Brookdale?
Marta: You bet. Well, Brookdale is the largest nationwide senior living organization. Uh, we’ve got communities in 46 of the 50 states. Uh, we take care of folks from independent living all the way through memory care. And in their memory cares, and in our assisted livings too, we can follow folks all the way through end of life. And so, our goal really is to make sure folks have a good quality of life - specifically in memory care. And I think - in my 6 years or so working with Brookdale - the majority of it has been in memory care. My real focus is really on that caregiver. You know, how can we support that caregiver? And we learn about how we can build programs around that individual person and what’s gonna reach them - what’s gonna calm them and give them purpose in their day. You know, the Clare Bridge model for memory care is very person-centered, and it is a very fluid, flexible program, because not everybody is the same. And not everybody is the same moment to moment. And so, I’m proud to be a part of a group like that that really cares about the folks that we’re taking care of.
Erica: Absolutely. How do you see um music therapy - ‘cause, um when you bring residents to us - we’re not going to you right now - and right now, when we’re recording this, COVID is still happening —
[Marta chuckles]
Erica: So we’re completely shut down. But how are you seeing music therapy foster community among residents -among residents and their families - what is your experience with that?
Marta: You know, I think it gives families, in particular, a way to have a normal experience with their loved one.
Erica: Mmm.
Marta: Um, you know, so many of us - what do we do to social and be family is we go and have a meal. And so I love that you start with that, so that you’re - you seeing 4 different walls than what you live with every day - you’re seeing different people. And it’s a safe place for them to be who they are. If somebody wants to get up and walk around, they can get up and walk around - you know, there’s no - no shame in being different. And I see, for the caregivers, that opportunity to also socialize with other caregivers, and - and it expands their social piece. But the way that the folks that are affected with dementia light up throughout that program - because it is different, how they participate in some of the activities throughout that music therapy portion. There’s no answer that’s silly, nothing is, you know - they’re not told no or that’s bad or wrong —
Erica: Sure —
Marta: It offers again that successful piece of - of an event. So —
Erica: Yeah. When the residents come to memory café, what’s the shift for the residents when they come back to the facility?
Marta: You know, I think sometimes, you know, what I’ve seen with just my - personally with my residents is there’s a little bit of fear at first, because you are taking them out of their norm. But when they come back, they’re so much lighter and more chatty, and smiling and having a good time. And it - you know, as much as it is for the - the caregivers that come and get a break, the other participants get that break too. And I think, deep down, again, it’s that familiar of doing something different that reall gives them that true sense of joy - for lack of a better way to put it. And behaviors decrease [chuckles] for a period of time, and…
Erica: Yeah. I love it. For listeners listening that maybe work in memory care settings and are very familiar with what that setting is like, what’s your thoughts to why you hire a music therapist, versus you hire like a music entertainer or some other kind of performance? Because - that’s a big question that I field for our organization is why are you charging us so much more in quotes than a performer because it’s - essentially you quote unquote do the same thing? And that’s not true, but then I have to do the education piece around it.
Marta: Well, I think an entertainer, it’s a more of a passive type of a thing. You know, music alone is great. It kinda goes back to those memories and the things that are familiar - but an entertainer is a very passive activity. Where in music therapy, you have that engagement - you have that opportunity to be an active participant, whether it’s rewriting words to a song, whether it’s playing a percussion instrument - whatever it is. That brain movement connection is huge. Um, and I see it when the folks that get the opportunity to do it, it does make them stronger in a lot of different ways - just because you are incorporating so many pieces of that kind of mind, soul, body kinda connection.
Erica: Absolutely. And music therapists, they receive a lot of training that a music entertainer doesn’t. And I have no qualms with musicians and performers - I went to school for music before I have the job I have now. But you don’t - you don’t receive the psychology, you don’t receive the neuroscience. Tanesha, who was on the podcast recently, she used to facilitate our memory café, and she has a training in Neurologic Music Therapy. So when she was doing “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” and doing these exercises with the um participants, it was very intentional - she knew what parts of the brain she was activating and why she was doing that - and it’s not arbitrary.
Marta: I think that activity directors kinda fall into - and I - I don’t mean this to be critical - but I think sometimes they look at it as an either or.
Erica: Mmm.
Marta: And I would say it’s both - it’s and. Because they serve a different purpose, um and entertainment is very important just in itself —
Erica: Mmhmm —
Marta: Um, I know we have a variety of entertainers that come through. We have a variety of musicians that come - before - pre-COVID - 2-3 times a month - of various different kinds. We’d have classical musicians ,we’d have some good old fashioned rock and roll, we’d have - you know - because different generations and different people, you know - they evoke emotions. With an entertainer, though, you don’t get to do anything with those emotions. With the music therapy, they can do something with it. Back in the very beginning of all of this, I didn’t realize how you could even create a playlist - an individual playlist for someone - so that, you know, if they’re having a really rough day, you can, based on their history, you could build this particular playlist that would help them kinda chill it down and go back into a - a healthier place. The first time I saw it, it blew me away ‘cause you don’t need medication.
Erica: Yeah. Just understanding who a person is and then connecting them to music - and understanding how the elements of music contribute to that as well. Um —
Marta: And on the flipside, the stuff to stay away from.
Erica: Yeah - that’s another really common question we get is like, what’s the quote unquote best type of music. And the music therapists understand that all of who a person is matters - and the context of a person matters —
Marta: Right —
Erica: And so, maybe Bob had a really hard time growing up and associates that music with any trauma that he experienced —
Marta: Mmhmm —
Erica: And prefers to listen to ‘60s music, because that was a more positive time in his life. Which you don’t know that if you’re not trying to understand who the person is fully.
Marta: You know, as I’ve been in this industry more years than I’m gonna admit to —
[Erica chuckles]
Marta: Um, the people that are starting to come that are needing my services are liking the music I grew up with —
Erica: Mmm —
Marta: And so it’s like, you know, the first time I heard, yeah, Dad’s favorite band was Led Zeppelin, I’m going, oh my gosh!
[Erica chuckles]
Marta: [Chuckling] You know, I listened to that too! The other thing I’m finding too - especially with some of my - my dementia folks, you know, if you think about - you know, as time goes backwards for them and they’re landing in their 20s-30s, it was the music their kids were listening to too that will bring some of that to the forefront.
Erica: Mmm.
Marta: And so, you know, I think what you guys do so well is - is that discovery piece of, you know, who really is this person? And what’s really going to be beneficial and reach those places that you’re trying to reach.
Erica: Absolutely. And that’s part of our trauma-informed philosophy is that we want to do whatever we can that’s preventative against trauma, and that means finding out who a person is - knowing a little bit about them. And that can be harder with the more advanced memory loss um patients —
Marta: Mmhmm —
Erica: Just ‘cause they can’t find those memories on their own - it needs a little bit of prompting or —
Marta Yeah, they have a hard time articulating it —
Erica: Talking to their family with it, yeah. And —
Marta: Yeah And I think too, you know, when you get back to, you know, the differences between just entertainment and - and the therapy - and I - and I go back to those amazing lunches that we will get back to!
Erica: Yes, we will.
Marta: Soon! I hope!
[Erica chuckles]
Marta: Um, but - especially - I - I had a dear friend, um whose wife now has - has since passed away. But he would - he would go - he would meet us there. She was one of my residents, and music was really important to those two, and so it offered that ability fr them to connect on that very intimate level. It was amazing to watch. And just how you do become family. It’s the same people that are coming, and so you really - um, there’s a hole when somebody isn’t there anymore. The relationships that get built and the support that gets built - and that’s the thing that scares me right now about - with this whole COVID thing. So many resources, like what you guys offer, we can’t do - and so it’s isolating these families more and more. Um, so I’m excited to hear that you guys are trying to do some of this virtually.
Erica: Yeah, absolutely. Trying to do as much telehealth as we can.
Marta: One of the things that I’m gonna be interested in seeing, as we kinda come out of this, um - when these guys all get back together again.
Erica: It’s gonna be a party.
Marta: I am so dxcited —
Erica: Yeah —
Marta: Because we are all so hungry for that connection. And what a beautiful way to come back.
Erica: Yeah. It’s gonna be great - I’m really excited about it. Is there anything that comes to your mind that you would want to add to the conversation?
Marta: You know, if I - if I had pearls of wisdom for activity people - you know, I think there’s a - very much a need for the educational piece of what is different. Why - why this is so much more beneficial. And not - not just for dementia - I mean, anybody that really, you know, is having a tough time. I think we need to be - as we are understanding more how the brain works and how the connections are, I really - I wish we could help the activity people understand better why this is so beneficial. Because I struggle with that, youknow, in some of the people and circles that I work with - they don’t —
Erica: Yeah —
Marta: They don’t get it, yeah. I am one of your biggest fans, and have been since it began, just because I could see the difference in what it brought.
Erica: Yah. And we appreciate all the advocacy you’re doing on our behalf - I know that you’re one of our biggest fans. We feel very loved by you. Marta, you did share with me some resources - what resources would you encourage people to look at that are maybe looking to investigate further music therapy for their memory care facility or programming?
Marta: You know, when I was getting some of that, I think one of the big ones was um Teepa Snow. Um, she talks about different ways of - of approaching and reaching folks, and I would start with what she calls gems. Because understanding where a person is in their - in their journey - and she does it in a beautiful way - it’s not so clinical [puts on a deeper voice] stage one is this. She use - literally uses gemstones. Because understanding where somebody is is gonna help you then kinda know some resources to get, and with - and she does - has some pieces about music and things like that that’s helpful. And I think, you know, broader, there’s a book called Creating Moments of Joy. Um, dementia doesn’t have to be always hdown, hard kinds of things. Yes, it is a tough thing to deal with, and on a 24 hour bases, it is - it’s horrible sometimes. But there’s ways of finding joy, and - there again, through the music piece, and through music therapy, that is a way that you can share together with your loved one some joy. Uh, ‘cause it is fun, and I think, as a caregiver, we need to be looking for that.
Erica: Mmm.
Marta: Um, look for those moments of joy. And that’s - that music therapy piece is really one of the easiest - I think - ways of finding that joy. And then, just for the caregiver, um there’s a book called the Thirty-Six Hour Day, and it’s a family guide. And it’s broken into different sections of if A is happening, you can try X, Y, and Z —
Erica: Mmm —
Marta: Or, you know, those kinds of things. So those are just some resources for um - caregiver-specific that I think is really helpful.
Erica: Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Marta, for chatting and sharing your resources.
Marta: Thank you for asking!
Erica: Absolutely. Listeners, if you would like to look at the resources that I will link in our episode notes or on our website. The episode notes - I think you just scroll down on your app - depending which app you’re on they’ll be there - but on our website, at S as in Sam, C as in Cat, Music Project dot org (scmusicproject.org), go to the podcast page and boop they’re all right there. Um, you can also follow us on all major social media channels - SCMusicProject. Make sure you subscribe so that you see episodes that come out in the future - we’re doing episodes every week, rotating through different topics and different guests to get different point of views. Please leave a review of the podcast so more people can see it. Share it with your friends, with your family - with anybody that you think could be interested. The podcast is not just for us - it is for you, it’s for our community, so that we all can know what we’re doing and then build a stronger network to support people.
So, thank you, listeners, for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time.
[Podcast outro music plays]