MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: A GRANT PROPOSAL EMILY BLICHA CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH MAY 2015

MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: A GRANT PROPOSAL EMILY BLICHA CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH MAY 2015

INTRODUCTION PROBLEM Aging individuals in California has greatly increased 18.1% increase for those 65 years and older 41.2% increase for those 85 years and older (Werner, 2011) 6.5 million older adult Americans may encounter depression (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2009). In a study, 18% of adults in America were diagnosed with anxiety within a 12-month period (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005). Long Beach is in need of more services and programs that enhance the quality of life and mental health of older adults, especially in regard to depression (City of Long Beach, 2005) GOALS Create a music therapy program for older adults in Long Beach To promote positive and lasting changes in the well-being and quality of life of older adults. Older adults engaged will experience: Lower levels of depression Lower levels of anxiety Increased quality of life

SOCIAL WORK RELEVANCE Rapid growth of older adults has demographics changing constantly Social work services, interventions, and tools need to adapt to such changes (American Psychological Association, 2004) Social workers need to be updated and educated on innovative and effective interventions to promote successful aging Grants can be written by social workers to obtain funding to develop and implement evidence-based interventions, such as music therapy, to meet needs of older adults

CROSS-CULTURAL RELEVANCE Music therapy with older adults has been effective throughout the world (Clements-Cortés, 2014) Cultural consideration during music therapy makes participants feel more comfortable (Molloy & Darrow, 1998) Music therapy can help with cross-cultural understanding because it allows participants to confirm their identity and improve their feelings of worth (Shapiro, 2005). Culture helps to build rapport between therapist and participant

METHODS TARGET POPULATION Older adults 65 years and older in the Long Beach area Experiencing depression and/or anxiety Open to those regardless of ethnicity, races religion, sexual identity and socioeconomic status Participants can engage in group by Receiving services through Jewish Family and Children s Service-Long Beach Self-referral Attends Alpert Jewish Community STRATEGIES USED TO IDENTIFY & SELECT A FUNDING SOURCE Internet search for funders on multiple levels Federal State Local Visited One OC Non Profit Services-Santa Ana, CA Utilized Foundation Center Software Search terms used throughout: older adults music therapy arts aging program development

METHODS (cont.) IDENTIFICATION OF FUNDING SOURCE Eisner Foundation Mission: Support and fund program/services that help the population of disadvantaged children and those who are aging Funds Southern California organizations that provide older adults with lasting change and eliminates problems they are facing SOURCES USED FOR NEEDS ASSESSMENT Information gathered from: National Alliance on Mental Illness National Institute of Mental Health Alzheimer s Association California Health Interview Survey JFCS PROJECTED BUDGET RANGE Personnel+Program Cost+Indirect Program Cost=$17,263.23

GRANT PROPOSAL PROGRAM SUMMARY & DESCRIPTION 12 music therapy groups will occur annually Music therapy groups will meet for 1 hour weekly for 8 weeks (10 participants per group) Music therapy group will consist of: Session 1: Sharing taste in music, then creating lyric books and CDs with popular songs chosen by participants Sessions 2-7: Each session will begin with participants playing a song with percussion instruments and singing, and end with reminiscence of what songs remind them of or other topics of discussion the activities may bring up. Session 8: Group members will host a concert for friends and family performing songs they learned to sing and play instruments for POPULATION SERVED Older adults 65 years and older experiencing depression and/or anxiety Self-referral Referral from other agencies

GRANT PROPOSAL (cont.) SUSTAINABILITY Part time social worker will outreach to social service agencies to encourage making referrals to have enough music therapy group participants Music therapy groups will continue as long as funding is provided Program evaluation will produce effective results to increase chances of getting re-funded PROGRAM OBJECTIVE To serve 120 adults within a single year by providing 12 music therapy groups that will last for 8 weeks PROGRAM EVALUATION Outside evaluator will be hired Pre/post standardized Beck s Depression Scale and Hamilton s Anxiety Scale will be administered to assess change in levels of depression and/or anxiety

LESSONS LEARNED/IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK LESSONS LEARNED Foundation funding is easiest to search/apply for Funders want to read grants that are engaging, creative, and persuasive rather than academic Regularly check with foundation to see if funding interest/priority has changed IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK Not a lot of studies on effectiveness of music therapy is done in US Social workers should research international effective interventions and use them in the US Social workers should advocate for music therapy to be more supported within social work field, on policy level Social workers should write more grants to develop more music therapy programs

REFERENCES American Psychological Association. (2004). Guidelines for psychological practice with older adults. American Psychologist, 59(4), 236 260. doi:10.1037/0003-006x.59. 4.236 City of Long Beach. (2005). Long Beach strategic plan for older adults...strength through the ages. Long Beach, CA: Department of Health and Human Services. Clements-Cortés, A. (2014). Buddy's glee club two: Choral singing benefits for older adults. Canadian Journal of Music Therapy, 20(1), 85-109. Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W., Demler, O., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM- IV disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 617-627. doi: 10.1001/archpsy c.62.6.617 Molloy, D. & Darrow, A. (1998). Multicultural perspectives in music therapy: An examination of the literature, educational curricula, and clinical practices in culturally diverse cities of the United States. Music Therapy Perspectives, 16(1), 27-32. National Alliance on Mental Illness (2009). Mental illnesses. Retrieved from http://www. nami.org/template.cfm?section=by_illness&template=/contentmanagement/co ntentdisplay.cfm&contentid=7515 Shapiro, N. (2005). Sounds in the world: Multicultural influences in music therapy inclinical practice and training. Music Therapy Perspectives, 23(1), 29-35. Werner, C.A. (2011). The older population: 2010. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov /prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-09.pdf