Home

The right note

Headshot of Angie Tomlinson
Angie TomlinsonThe West Australian
Music therapist Giuseppe Reina brings joy to residents at an Amana Living, Karrinyup.
Camera IconMusic therapist Giuseppe Reina brings joy to residents at an Amana Living, Karrinyup. Credit: Picture: Iain Gillespie

Giuseppe Reina traverses Perth with his collection of instruments — a violin, keyboard, guitar, flute and range of percussion instruments — to deliver music therapy to seniors, providing support to those living with dementia, and to people in their last few hours of life.

Music plays an integral role at Amana Living’s 21 sites across Perth and Mandurah. The aged care provider uses music therapy — an accredited evidence-based approach delivered by music therapist Mr Reina — and therapeutic music programs with great results.

Perhaps one of his most heartbreaking, but rewarding jobs, is bringing peace towards the end of life. “We have had some really powerful stories of family members sitting with the music therapist and their loved one in the last couple of hours, and the peace and comfort a music therapist can bring to someone,” Amana Living Residential Care enrichment and volunteer services manager Emily Lees says.

Ms Lees says Mr Reina also offers emotional and cognitive support for acute stage patients in the older adult mental health beds at its Bullcreek facility. “That can really make the difference between someone starting their day and feeling quite distressed with the environment they are in, or having a much better, more relaxed calm day,” she says.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW
Music therapist Giuseppe Reina entertains residents at an Amana Living, Karrinyup.
Camera IconMusic therapist Giuseppe Reina entertains residents at an Amana Living, Karrinyup. Credit: Iain Gillespie

At the Moline Care Centre in Karrinyup a pilot program is being run using the tiny reverie harp. It can be played by anyone without training, and often used as a therapy instrument for its soothing sounds and ease.

“The reverie harp provides a variety of health and wellbeing benefits. The music is calming and can help to decrease anxiety, agitation and depression. It also brings joy, pleasure and comfort, as well as a tactile experience that can alleviate boredom,” Mr Reina says.

The WA not-for-profit aged care provider is also running its Tune into Life project targeting people living with dementia. Based on the US Music and Memory initiative, the therapeutic music program involves creating personalised playlists to unlock deep memories previously lost, as well as to soothe specific symptoms.

The University of Melbourne, for which Amana Living acts as a centre for its Perth-based music therapy students, is running a global study investigating the effectiveness of music therapy for treating people with dementia and depression. The Music as Medicine campaign involves 1500 participants across nine countries and is the biggest music therapy trial in the world for people with dementia.

Part of the project looks at the effect of weekly music activities on relationship quality and overall wellbeing between people living with dementia in the community and their family caregivers.

In an article published on the University of Melbourne’s Pursuit, research leader Professor Felicity Baker says: “One of the beautiful things about music is that it takes participants in an agitated state back to safe and pleasurable memories, helping to bring them out of their shells.”

The study hopes to bring music to the forefront of treatment options for people with dementia, as well as depression that often goes hand-in-hand with the disease. It aims to assess and measure the long-term impact of a range of different music therapy techniques.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails