This intervention is an innovative and unique tool that music therapists have to use to celebrate the baby’s life in utero, unite the family in a shared experience, comfort the mother during labor, and facilitate legacy work. Although families appreciate having a physical product to cherish, the strength in this intervention lies in its flexibility to be offered as a process within the context of a music therapy relationship. As families cope with the uncertainty of carrying and potentially caring for a child with a life-limiting diagnosis, this intervention may serve as a catalyst for creating meaning over time.

Schreck, Brian, and Alexa Economos. Perinatal Music Therapy: Using Doppler Recordings to Connect and Create. Music and Medicine, vol. 10, no. 1, 25 Jan. 2018, p. 22, 10.47513/mmd.v10i1.575. Accessed 17 Feb. 2021.

Thienprayoon, Rachel, and Brian Schreck. A Symphony of Life: One Team’s Approach to Perinatal Palliative Care. Pediatrics, vol. 137, no. Supplement 3, Feb. 2016, pp. 312A312A, 10.1542/peds.137.supplement_3.312a. Accessed 17 Feb. 2021.

Heartbeat recordings in music therapy bereavement care following suicide: Action research single case study of amplified cardiopulmonary recordings for continuity of care

Abstract

Bereavement services incorporating family-centered practices are emerging within hospital-based care but are often time-limited and lack personalization. This action research single case study explored one father’s experience of music therapy using amplified cardiopulmonary recordings (ACPR) during bereavement following his son’s death by suicide, to critique current norms and inspire transformative change in systems of care. As co-researchers, a bereaved father, his music therapist, and a music therapy researcher used iterative cycles to qualitatively analyze a series of dialogic reflections upon an 8-year experience of ACPR to construct two overarching themes: 1) continuity experienced as compassion, and 2) process of music therapy with ACPR as tool for resilience and positive growth. Aspects of continuity in the ACPR process, in relation with the music therapist, in journeying through grief, and in the heart and heartbeat were perceived as overwhelming compassion that fostered positive growth in the face of profound loss. We see our study as a first step in promoting culture change by exposing underlying practices, assumptions and policies within the context of hospital-based bereavement care and identifying an exceptional example of possibilities. Our findings add to the literature on action research for transformation by demonstrating that the process of relational knowledge co-creation can be perceived as part of the therapeutic journey.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14767503231207993

Ghetti, C., Schreck, B., & Bennett, J. M. (2023). Heartbeat recordings in music therapy bereavement care following suicide: Action research single case study of amplified cardiopulmonary recordings for continuity of care. Action Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/14767503231207993

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And the Beat Goes On: Heartbeat Recordings through Music Therapy for Parents of Children with Progressive Neurodegenerative Illnesses

Abstract

Background: Music is a powerful therapeutic intervention to promote physical and psychological health, healing, and well-being. In pediatric palliative care, music therapists are often involved in preloss care. Heartbeat recordings (HBRs) synchronize the rhythm of the heartbeat into a favorite song. In preloss care, HBRs show promise in helping parents of children with progressive neurodegenerative illnesses (PNDI) cope with their chronic sorrow and the loss of their child.

Objective: To explore the lived experience of HBRs for bereavement in the lives of parents of children with PNDI.

Design: Phenomenological study.

Setting/Subjects: Purposeful sample of 11 English-speaking parents of children with PNDI receiving palliative care services in an academic pediatric hospital were interviewed three months after receiving their child’s HBR. Measurements: A semistructured interview guide was used to collect data concurrently with the mind mapping process.

Results: Data from interviews revealed 4 major themes and 10 subthemes: (1) Bifocal View (parental lens vs. medical lens); (2) Navigating Life and Relationships (caregiver fatigue, grief and loss, marriage, job, brought us together, paying it forward); (3) Coping through Spirituality; and, (4) Legacy Creation (HBR as a connection, song selection).

Conclusions: Parents of children with PNDI experience chronic sorrow. The HBR assisted in meaning-making that validated the child’s life and supported the parents’ expression of grief and their ability to cope. Further research is needed to validate the impact of HBRs in diverse populations.

Walden, Marlene, et al. “And the Beat Goes On: Heartbeat Recordings through Music Therapy for Parents of Children with Progressive Neurodegenerative Illnesses.” Journal of Palliative Medicine, 10 Dec. 2020, 10.1089/jpm.2020.0447.

Amplified Cardiopulmonary Recordings: Music Therapy Legacy Intervention with Adult Oncology Patients and Their Families—A Preliminary Program Evaluation

Abstract

Background: Amplified cardiopulmonary recording (ACPR) is a unique music therapy intervention implement- ing recorded heartbeats with meaningful music. Although its clinical application has grown, there is limited research on the acceptability and usage by bereaved families.

Objective: The research objective was to understand the frequency recipients engaged with ACPR after their loved one died.

Design: A survey was undertaken with relatives of 191 adult patients who had participated in ACPR. Setting/Subjects: Bereaved loved ones of adult oncology patients who received care at the Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Results: Out of the 191 participants, 73% of family members responded, 49% reported listening to their record- ing frequently, 31% listened to the recording at least once after receiving it, and 20% reported never listening. Conclusions: ACPR appears to have moderate acceptability and usage among bereaved family members, especially when created in the context of ongoing music therapy treatment. We recommend that this process- based music therapy intervention be studied further and offered proactively.

Schreck, Brian, et al. “Amplified Cardiopulmonary Recordings: Music Therapy Legacy Intervention with Adult Oncology Patients and Their Families—a Preliminary Program Evaluation.” Journal of Palliative Medicine, 26 Apr. 2022, 10.1089/jpm.2022.0017.

Clements-Cortés, Amy and Joyce Yip. Relationship Completion in Palliative Care Music Therapy. Dallas, Tx, Barcelona Publishers, 2021—Chapter 5: Music Therapy: Evidence and Potential for Relationship Completion, by Amy Clements-Cortés, SarahRose Black, Joyce Yip, Marija Pranjić, Brian Schreck, & Andrew Rossetti https://www.barcelonapublishers.com/Relationship_Completion-In-Palliative-Care-Music-Therapy

Mondanaro, John F, and Gabriel A Sara. Music and Medicine : Integrative Models in the Treatment of Pain. Chapter 14 A symphony of life : harvesting emotions by preserving legacy and honoring pain, pp. 237-253. New York, Ny, Satchnote Press, 2013. https://www.amazon.com/Music-Medicine-Integrative-Models-Treatment/dp/0615729428