Thanks to Louise who has been working with George’s Rockstars for nearly two years and funding from Global’s Make Some Noise, Music Therapy has been on offer to children who are in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Southampton Children’s Hospital for nearly a year. At the hospital Louise can be found in the paediatric intensive care and high dependency units, and the oncology, neuro and cardiac wards, helping young patients and their families through Music Therapy.
Louise has 20 years’ experience as a music therapist and comments that working in a hospital is such rewarding work. “The music therapy allows children and their families the opportunity to be creative, and explore and express all the emotions and fears that being in a hospital brings without needing to use any words. It is so rewarding to see the smiles that music therapy can bring to people’s faces.”
Music Therapy can be highly beneficial within PICU, with research showing that it can help decrease anxiety and pain, reduce heart and breathing rates, and increase positive mood. The actual music itself can provide a positive sensory experience and distracts from all the noises and beeping machines that come with an intensive care ward.
Every music therapy session is different depending on the age of the patient, their musical preferences, and whether they are able or want to play instruments themselves as well. Sometimes Louise might just play her guitar and sing to a child, using their breathing and the rise and fall of their chest as the tempo for the music. Sometimes children will play the instruments and Louise will sing their favourite songs, and sometimes technology is used so that music and songs can be created on an iPad.
It can be a traumatic experience for siblings to visit their brother or sister in PICU and so if they are on the unit when Louise is there she will encourage them to join in with the music as a way to help normalise the situation they are in. It also allows them to feel that they are still engaging and playing with their sibling and also taking an active role in their care.
When a child is discharged from PICU, Music Therapy may continue as Louise might see them on other wards at Southampton Children’s Hospital, or at QA hospital in Portsmouth. Building and continuing with that ongoing relationship is so important to the children and families that George’s Rockstars supports. Louise really loves seeing a child who once was too ill to pick up an instrument, asking to play one… a true sign that they are getting better.
