Music therapy is a growing health care profession in which credentialed professionals use music to improve an individual’s balance, mobility and communication; alleviate pain and depression; enhance memory and expression of feelings; and assist with physical rehabilitation. Celebrating more than 10 years of providing music and motion for the residents of Masonic Village, Music Therapy adds a beat to an already extensive array of therapeutic recreation programs and recreational opportunities at Masonic Village. Complementing the whole realm of therapy offered at the Masonic Village, the Music Therapy program allows you to reminisce, interact with others and stimulate your creative side.

The program at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown is coordinated by two board-certified music therapists. The Music Therapy program offers sessions for residents of each neighborhood in the Masonic Health Care Center, as well as the personal care area. Residents have the opportunity to participate in a Bell Choir, dances, Music and Movement, and Music and Memories groups. Music therapists also provide end-of-life music services.

A similar program is offered at the Masonic Village at Sewickley. Board-certified music therapist Megan Zulauf leads residents in different exercises including song writing, singing and playing in a bell choir, or making music with children from the Masonic Village Child Care Center in a program called Young at Heart.

According to Ann Dinsmore, Music Therapy Supervisor, “Music provides very specific therapeutic benefits for older adults, supported by growing research in the areas of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Music acts as a motivator; it stimulates and relaxes, and it triggers many memories. When other functions have failed people, music still provides an outlet for expression.”