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NELFT NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of community health and mental health services across the north east London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Essex and Kent and Medway.
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How music therapy brings people with Alzheimer’s together
For World Alzheimer's Month, we are highlighting the Barking and Dagenham Memory Service. This service offers support for people aged 18 and over who experience memory problems, including those diagnosed with dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
The service provides assessments, diagnoses, treatments, and therapeutic interventions that improve the quality of life for service users and their families. The team behind the memory service is a multidisciplinary team consisting of psychiatrists, psychologists, community mental health nurses, occupational therapists, Peer support workers, admins and music therapists.
Music therapy is an important part of the Memory Service. It acts as a powerful connector between memories and the present, bridging the gap for those affected by Alzheimer’s or dementia. Music can unlock memories, evoke emotions, and even improve cognitive function by reducing anxiety, stress and agitation. People diagnosed with various forms of dementia, attend the Barking and Dagenham Memory Service often accompanied by a family member. These sessions use interactive, flexible, patient-led music-making, using a mixture of songs and improvisation.
These songs, nostalgic for many, help the service users connect with their personal histories, often sparking conversation and moments of joy. Beyond the therapeutic benefits, the service also provides support to families. For caregivers, these sessions offer a chance to bond with their loved ones in a setting that promotes positive interactions and shared experiences.
Olive, who attends the sessions on a weekly basis with her daughter Lorraine, said:
"I’ve always loved music, and singing and dancing just makes me so happy. It feels great to be able to share this joy with others, and have my daughter there with me."
John Wallis the music therapist, employed by music therapy charity Nordoff and Robins, who has been running the sessions for eight years, added:
"Music therapy provides an opportunity for people living with Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia as well as mental health difficulties, to engage in something positive, creative, and focused on what they can do, often along with relatives, carers, or friends.
“We often hear about how good music can be for prompting memories and remembering old lyrics. But even more than that, it’s about being in the present, doing something in-the-moment… Where conversation becomes difficult or fragmented, music has a way of finding a flow .
"I would encourage anyone spending time with someone living with dementia to be open to musical opportunities for connection. When people come to the music sessions, I think they see - and hear - that there is life to be lived with dementia."
Here are the most popular songs that feature in the sessions:
- Daisy Bell ("Daisy Daisy")
- The Lambeth Walk
- Ma, He’s Making Eyes at Me
- Yellow Submarine
- Blueberry Hill
- When I’m 64
- Que Sera Sera
- Amazing Grace
- The Great Pretender
Find out more about the service here Older adult mental health and memory service- Barking and Dagenham | NELFT NHS Foundation Trust