Music Therapy with Apex Harmony Lodge

Since my last post a lot has changed. I’ve started practicing

music therapy on a resident of Apex centre. I am working with Cheng

Tee, who speaks Chinese and English. This wonderful lady changed my

life for better. All our sessions should be based on listening to the

music. And as a part of dementia she doesn’t remember the name of the

songs, but she can speak fluently and understand everything that I am

asking about. She is very involved in the process and she always

smiles to everyone, she is a very helpful and active person, I am very

lucky to have her as my working-partner.

She loves Elvis Presley’s songs a lot and even remembers some of them.

While listening she is always clapping or stomping into rhythm, even

when she doesn’t feel well, she tries to be involved in it. It was a

breathtaking experiences, when I met her. As we learned from our

supervisor, many of people with dementia are not able to talk or show

their emotions, because they are mainly just don’t remember how to use

their muscles, so not all of them can be interactive. But Ms. Cheng

Tee is a very nice lady, who likes to talk and smile. Even when I’m

feeling a bit down, or I’m tired she starts clapping into rhythm and

smiling, which is so nice of her.

Once she didn’t want to listen a music, so we were talking the whole

process of music therapy. It is wonderful, but she remembers how she

got to the Apex centre and she told me story about her best friend and

her roommate in the apex centre, whom she was feeding and taking care

along with all of the workers of apex centre. It will stay

confidential as it is her experiences and her life, but just the fact

that she lets me know her life better builds a good connection and

trust between us.

I think our sessions are very helpful for both of us and helps fight

her disease, because she remembers me and sometimes remembers the

songs that we are listening too (the playlist is almost the same and

doesn’t change from session to session) and so it so fascinating when

she asks me to switch the song, because we already have listened to it

last week. I have wonderful, positive experiences about my time in

Apex centre. I am very glad I can have an impact on someone’s life

just by playing Elvis Presley’s songs. Can’t wait to continue our

sessions and really hope to help ease the disease of Ms.Cheng Tee.

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