From Country to AC/DC—Music Therapy Brings Hospice Patient Diane Huseman Joy
When most people think of music therapy, they don’t necessarily think of humor, yet Diane Huseman’s latest music therapy project makes her laugh. Diane is a hospice patient at Spring Arbor Senior Living, who has been working with Hospice music therapist Melanie Jessop, LPMT, MT-BC since May.
Melanie visits once per week for their music therapy sessions, where they do a lot of listening and singing, but most recently have been writing a song. “I wanted to write something that sounded like Tim McGraw,” Diane says. “Country music is always so sad.” They ended up with a spoof of a country ballad entitled “My Toilet Overflowed in West Virginia.” It follows the lines of the country song stereotype where things go from bad to worse – with a good dose of humor thrown in. Melanie strums the chords on her guitar – an appropriate instrument for the genre. She asks Diane if she’s going too fast – if it needs to pick up more of the “sadness” – but Diane says it’s just fine.
“My husband and I used to laugh about country music,” says Diane, whose husband passed away four years ago. She is keeping his memory alive with the "corny" but enjoyable song, featuring a protagonist who loses his truck, his dog, and his wife, and ends up – where else? – at the local bar.
Diane is actually a serious appreciator of music, but her interests lie mainly in heavy metal and rock. “I almost had to become involved in music because I have twin sons who have always been in bands,” she says. “They were in bands as kids and they’re still playing today – guitar, singing, and drums.”
Some of her favorite artists today remain AC/DC, The Eagles, and Janis Joplin. Melanie talks about how Diane “Hotel California” at Spring Arbor’s latest karaoke event. During their music therapy sessions, with the help of the guitar, a Bluetooth speaker, and the tambourine, Melanie and Diane sing and tap through favorites such as AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long," Janis Joplin’s “Bobby McGee,” and other ‘60s and ‘70s hits.
Melanie, who has been a certified music therapist for 26 years, speaks on how these practices provide a variety of benefits, from calming stress and focusing the mind away from pain to emotional processing during end-of-life care. "Gentle movement, humming, and singing can settle the patient,” she says. “We have a practice called entrainment where we match a patient’s energy with our music, and then gradually slow the pace and intensity to promote calm.”
Another important practice – which has definitely been part of her work with Diane – is what she calls “legacy work” and “life review.” The songs patients write are something their families can cherish for a long time to come, and music provides an outlet to trigger memories and process experiences. It encourages expression.
During “You Shook Me All Night Long,” Diane briefly coughs and adjusts from some discomfort. Melanie pauses to check in, but as AC/DC keeps playing, Diane is eager to keep going. “I’m doing okay,” she assures with a smile, and continues singing along.
