Building community through song: The therapeutic hospice choir
Title
Building community through song: The therapeutic hospice choir
Creator
Gosine J; Travasso R
Identifier
Publisher
British Journal of Music Therapy
Date
2018
Subject
singing; hospice; Rehabilitation; impact; caregivers; members; family support; music; music therapy
Description
Music enables us not only to reflect upon the world in which we live but also to become active agents in creating and shaping it and ourselves. The Treehouse Choir is an innovative, therapeutic programme open to all adult service users and staff at one of the East Anglia's Children's Hospices. The target group of the choir membership focuses primarily on the mothers of children receiving care at the hospice and bereaved mothers. The choir addresses the need for psychosocial support for families as they face the challenges of caring for a child with life-limiting and complex health conditions, as well as families mourning the loss of a child. This article analyzes data collected from questionnaires and interviews referring to the emotional, psychological and social benefits of participation in the choir. It examines how singing in the choir serves as a means through which individuals form a community built on shared life experiences, bridging boundaries between service provider and service user, creating a means of self-expression, and breaking down barriers to enable new lines of communication within a non-threatening environment. It also examines the role of public performances in promoting greater awareness of the services provided by the hospice.
Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Citation List Month
August 2018 List
URL Address
Collection
Citation
Gosine J; Travasso R, “Building community through song: The therapeutic hospice choir,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed February 16, 2025, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/15542.