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Doris (pseudonym) walked around the ward with flattened affect, rarely speaking. She was socially withdrawn, and her medical chart indicated a range of psychiatric diagnoses. Since she had been staying at the aged care mental health facility for a while, a discharge plan was in place for her to eventually fly interstate to be nearer to her immediate family. Despite being divorced, her ex-husband visited her quite often and they were on good terms.I had sat with her a few times, with a goal to improve her mood and social engagement. We would sing together in a quiet room, and sometimes she would stand up and leave in the middle of the song, while still singing with me. On one particular day, Doris had chosen from the list Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCI7D-lWNk), and we proceeded to sing the song from beginning to end. When I asked her what she thought about that song, she replied, “I’d like to fly on a jet plane to [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"][interstate city] so I can be near my family,” and then added, “but if I do that, I’ll miss my hubby’s company.” We discussed how she was feeling about this, and it became clear that Doris was quite torn on the issue of leaving, and how this decision might impact on her quality of life.This surprised me not only because Doris was expressing herself quite eloquently, but also because all of her case notes indicated that she was agreeable to the plan already in place. The simple act of engaging in song singing had helped her to find the words and express herself in a way that none of the ward staff had observed. Immediately I passed this new information on to the treating team. At this point I was reminded of the unique role of music therapy, and how sometimes we can help our clients in ways that no one else can.Tim Minchin, RMT, MMusThy, WFMT Student Delegate for Australia/New Zealand[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
