Music therapy for the elderly
Doctors for Peace, in collaboration with the “E. F. Dall’Abaco” Conservatory – Verona, and with the support of the Cattolica Assicurazioni Foundation, realizes “Musicare. Cognitive rehabilitation project for the elderly”.
The project exploits the richness of cognitive, sensory and emotional stimuli present in music to delay the aging processes and promote neuroplasticity, essential for the functioning of brain structures.
The context
At the beginning of the project, in 2016, a scientific commission of Doctors for Peace, coordinated by the professor of neurology Antonio Fiaschi, administered a cognitive test to a large group of elderly residents at Le Betulle aimed at measuring the degree of autonomy, intellectual efficiency and the ability to recognize and distinguish emotions.
After developing the intervention strategies, in mid-September 2016 Dr. Paolo Caneva, director of the music therapy department of the Verona Conservatory, began the realization of the weekly musical workshops provided for by the project.
The project started in September 2016 with the support of AMIA. In 2017 the music therapy workshops continued thanks to the contributions of AGSM and AMIA, and in 2018 thanks to the Cattolica Assicurazioni Foundation.
Activities
The workshops are not limited to offering passive listening to musical pieces, but provide for an active involvement that develops on three different levels:
– the emotional level, through the revival of songs loved by the participants in the group;
– the physical plane, with the invitation to keep the rhythm and move in sync with the music; and
– the cognitive level, with the awakening of long-term memory, thanks to the use of songs from the past, and the stimulation of short-term memory, thanks to rhythmic exercises to be repeated in sequence.
At the end of the course, the cognitive tests will be administered again, and the scientific committee will evaluate the possible impact of the workshops on the psycho-physical health of the participants.
