Blog Layout

How Can Family Caregivers Work With Music Therapists for Dementia Treatment?

Music therapy is a way of enhancing, improving, and contributing to quality of life, as expert Helen So rightly puts. Read what she and music therapist Emily Yeung have to say to family caregivers who want to incorporate music therapy in their caregiving routine.

The beauty of music therapy lies in its innate ability to share powerful connections with people who struggle to put their thoughts and feelings into words. People with dementia are often heavily medicated to subside their agitated behavioural tendencies, reducing their ability to fulfil emotional and spiritual needs.

Music therapists and family caregivers currently work together to effectively enhance patients’ communication skills and well-being. According to the Elderly Services Director of an elderly home in Hong Kong as interviewed by Our Hong Kong Foundation , music therapy is the most effective choice for dementia patients with decreased verbal abilities, as “through music they are still enabled to achieve catharsis by other modes of sensory stimulation.” 

We chat with professionals Emily Yeung and Helen So who share their insight on how family caregivers can work with music therapists to nurture their relationship with their dementia-diagnosed relatives.

1. What is something caregivers should pay attention to when seeking help from a music therapist?

Emily: During an individual or group session, caregivers may have their own expectations from the patients. To make the best use of the session, they may sometimes overwhelm the patient by providing a lot of instruments and tasks. People with dementia tend to get anxious easily. The caregivers should really take a step back and observe what their patient can do without their assistance. It is about giving them the autonomy to make their own decisions and express themselves independently instead of being offered a lot of things they may not want to do. The important expectation caregivers should set is that they enjoy the session together.

2. How can caregivers work with music therapists to facilitate the treatment?

 Emily: Caregivers can provide maximum assistance to us especially during the hands-on work. For example, they usually help in facilitating the patients’ engagement in the sessions if, maybe, they are wheelchair bound. They aid in engaging them with their instruments and providing access to them so that they can play more freely.

We generally make use of the relationship people with dementia share with their family caregivers so that we all can come together to participate as a group or a little community which makes them feel included. Otherwise, oftentimes we collaborate together to discuss the best available treatment for the patient.


Helen: True, the caregiver’s presence does make a lot of difference. The patients may feel more secure and at ease during the session with their presence. They definitely feel reluctant and reserved otherwise, but if a familiar face like a caregiver were present, they would  at least be willing to try with us. After all, it is about providing them with the initial momentum to join in.

As an afterthought, Helen So added that according to her research and past experiences, she found that many caregivers and social workers already use music as a form of intervention. It complements well with physical therapy and medication, and professional healthcare workers use it to emotionally engage with their clients.


“Do not assume that people suffering with dementia are unaware. They know things, and can still feel everything. Our framing of them for what we read on google ranging from them being forgetful, needing extra care, responsibility, and so on, is misleading. They know and feel more than we can imagine.

About the Experts

Emily Yeung is a registered music therapist with five years experience in the field. She was trained in music therapy in the UK at the University of Roehampton and also holds a bachelor’s degree in Arts (music) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is qualified with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the British Association For Music Therapy. She provides music therapy services in various organisations such as schools, elderly homes, and special schools along with assessment, plans and reports.

Helen So is a policy researcher specialising in the field of Arts Innovation at Our Hong Kong Foundation, and co-authored Hong Kong’s first policy advocacy paper that acknowledges and calls attention to the inclusive, non-discriminatory, and preventative agency of arts in Hong Kong, with recommendations for a more concerted government effort in making arts a solution for health and wellbeing. Helen holds a Master of Studies (MSt) in Musicology & Ethnomusicology at St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Music (BMus) at King’s College London, UK.

其他話題 Other Topics

最新的文章 Latest Posts

By Bowtie 保泰人壽保險有限公司 09 Feb, 2024
當發現身體上出現細小的傷口,你會否輕易忽視?如果不妥善處理傷口,尤其是對於免疫力較差或患有糖尿病的老年人來說,一個小傷口就可能會引發感染。了解正確的傷口處理方法,促進傷口癒合,減少感染風險。
By Bowtie 保泰人壽保險有限公司 09 Feb, 2024
即使步入老年階段,人們仍有購買保險的需要。相較於年輕人,長者面臨著更多健康風險,對於安全保障的需求更加迫切。萬一發生意外或突發疾病,保險能夠提供相應的保障,減輕家人的負擔。
By Evercare 08 Dec, 2023
2023 年度 「DHL /南華早報香港商業獎」昨日揭曉,香港領先的健康科技平台 Evercare 成功脫穎而出獲得獎項。Evercare 秉持改善老齡社會問題、讓長者能夠有尊嚴地度過晚年的承諾,一直努力不懈地以科技創新重新塑造護理行業,提升長者生活質素。此項獎項肯定了 Evercare 的成就及對社會的貢獻。 其他獲獎的企業包括比亞迪股份有限公司、中國建築工程(香港)有限公司、CMRS Digital Solutions Limited、及保利高集團有限公司。獲獎的個人包括蘭桂坊集團主席,盛智文先生、富豪酒店國際控股有限公司之副主席及執行董事,羅寶文女士、及香港麥當勞行政總裁,黎韋詩女士。

喜歡我們的文章嗎?

超過3,000位照顧者已經訂閱我們的資訊!訂閱我們的資訊,你可獲得免費護理工具、專家護理知識和同路人分享。立即訂閱,也可以隨時取消。請在此填寫你的姓名和電郵地址:

Share by: