How Music Helps In Bereavement

Rochelle Eisenberg
Staff Reporter
Baltimore Jewish Times

Music has the power and ability to evoke memories and meanings. Its unique nature helps individuals come to terms with the loss of a loved one –– not only in death but also during a serious illness –– and ultimately helps in the healing process.

That was the theme of keynote speaker Joy S. Berger, who spoke May 6 at the 11th annual Irvin B. Levinson Memorial Lecture on Death, Dying and Bereavement. Jewish Community Services and Sol Levinson & Bros. co-sponsored the gathering.

To a full house, Ms. Berger, who is the director of education and volunteers for Hosparus Inc., the community hospices of Louisville, Ky., southern Indiana and central Kentucky, said that music is “a universal language. The music you are listening to today is always autobiographical.”

For each individual, she said that certain songs bring back unique memories that help transform the “past into the present.” Ms. Berger is also a music therapist who serves as clinical faculty in the Department of Music Therapy at the University of Louisville.

“Different music can talk to you about different phases of your life,” said Janet B. Kurland, JCS’s senior care specialist and liaison for the Levinson lecture. “It can trigger memories to help you get in touch with experiences and to move you through difficult times.”

From her work, Ms. Berger said that among seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease, music from their late teens and early 20s often helps them figure out who they are.

This year’s speakers also included Dr. Robert J. Wicks, an expert in the prevention of “secondary stress.” Dr. Wicks is a professor of psychology at Loyola University Maryland.