Hilliard, Russell E. (2005). Hospice and palliative care music therapy: A guide to program development and clinical care. Cherry Hill, NJ: Jeffrey Books. 128 pages. $20.00

Abstract

Hilliard, Russell E. (2005). Hospice and palliative care music therapy: A guide to development and clinical care. Cherry Hill, NJ: Jeffrey Books. 128 pages. $20.00 This book is deceiving in appearance. At roughly 1 20 pages, it seems to be a quick read which could be easily used as a reference for the obvious purpose stated in its title. However, it becomes clear early in the first chapter that Hilliard has packed a great deal of information and resources into a compact volume. His extensive background in hospice and palliative care is evident in his knowledge of hospice organizational structures and administrative needs. Its purpose, as Dena Register states in the book's foreword, is to both new and seasoned clinicians with the information required to successfully pursue development of a hospice music therapy program (p. v) with particular emphasis on the oft-ignored business of such a task. Hilliard's relatively brief professional career, only 14 years long, is as packed with experience as his book is with information. His biographical blurb details how he started a brand new hospice straight out of his internship in 1 994 and then continued to initiate over 20 more such programs since. Besides working in end-of-life care, he also practiced in psychiatric and grief/bereavement settings. Additionally, he completed a master's of social work degree and a Ph.D., the latter through Florida State University. Music therapists who have little hospice experience, such as myself, will likely reach for this book for practical advice on hospice music therapy development, especially if they are familiar with Hilliard's writings and frequent conference presentations on the topic. Readers will want to know what it takes, clinically and practically, to initiate and maintain a new music therapy in hospice. Hilliard begins to answer these questions by providing background on the hospice movement in the United States and brief descriptions of how music has been used in these settings, including nonmusic therapy applications such as music thanatology, music counseling, and medical troubadours. He also gives an overview of how the U.S. healthcare system works with and manages funding and organizational structures of hospice care, which is imperative for music therapists to understand before embarking on development. In the second chapter, he then addresses the clinical needs of the hospice population, citing medical research and describing Quality of Life scales which can be useful for music therapists learning about the hospice field's assessment tools. In the third chapter Hilliard addresses the clinical aspects of music therapy in hospice. After reviewing both quantitative and qualitative research with this population, he then gives an overview of his own music therapy orientation in hospice care: Cognitive-Behavioral Music Therapy (which he abbreviates as CbxMT). While Hilliard acknowledges that music therapy training in the United States is diverse, he cites his own 2003 research which seems to support the efficacy of CbxMT in increasing the quality of life for hospice patients. (The effects of music therapy on the quality and length of life of people diagnosed with terminal cancer. Journal of Music Therapy. 40(2), 113-137). He goes on to describe relevant music therapy techniques, eventually presenting 22 music therapy Care Plans addressing the varied clinical needs identified in the previous chapter. These plans resemble music therapy activity plans in that they outline the materials needed to provide a specific technique, the procedure in implementing the technique, and a case example. Some of these plans are written by music therapy interns, some by music therapists with master's degrees, and some by Hilliard himself. There is no clear distinction between the skill level of these various practitioners or the level of practice at which the practitioners are operating. …