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-Corts, 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 Childrens 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
Alzheimers 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 Becks Depression Scale and Hamiltons 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-Corts, 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 DSMIV 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