It has been a while since I updated this blog: Happy New Year!
We have been working hard on finalizing the measurement tools and scales for the study, and currently we are putting the finishing touches to the protocol – the detailed description of the music therapy sessions that will take place in the comfort of the eight study participants’ homes.
It is in the midst of this meticulous and painstaking work that may be just the right time to step back for an hour and to appreciate the larger picture. We will do exactly that on Saturday, February 3 2018, as Dr. Lev Brylev, the medical director at ALS Foundation “Live Now”, and I present at the international Online Conference for Music Therapy on “Multidisciplinary Team Approach to ALS / MND Care”.
Here is the abstract, and we are looking forward to sharing our hard-earned knowledge with many of you on February 3!
“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of Motor neuron disease (MND), is a rare group of neurological diseases affecting the brain and spinal cord. People with ALS / MND can have multiple functional problems and complex needs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK) guideline [NG42], suggests “coordinated care for people with MND, using a clinic‑based, specialist MND multidisciplinary team approach”. Integration of music volunteer and music therapy services into clinic-based multidisciplinary care approach allows to enhance such dimensions of quality in ALS / MND treatment as experience and effectiveness of care.
The lecture presentation will focus on the benefits and the ways of integrating volunteer musicians and music therapy services into multidisciplinary model of clinic-based care for people with ALS / MND in Moscow. The role and the training of volunteer musicians in this model, in the absence of music therapy professional and education standards in Russia, as well as the perspectives and obstacles for transition to professional level music therapy treatment and research, is discussed. Time for questions and discussion will be allowed at the end of the presentation”.
