Music Therapy Entrainment: A Humanistic Music Therapist's Perspective of Using Music Therapy Entrainment with Hospice Clients Experiencing Pain

“I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of the pain” is a proclamation made by numerous hospice clients. In response to this statement, I will present four case studies that describe music therapy entrainment with hospice clients experiencing pain. These case studies will demonstrate specific needs of dying clients and how music therapy entrainment can meet those needs. The discussion section will explore insights I discovered about myself and music therapy entrainment. Those lessons include the use of the empathic relationships that evolved, the role of boundaries in this technique, the need for flexibility within the stages of music therapy entrainment, the participant's use of control during the process, musical interactions with nonverbal participants, my observations about the participants' relationship to music, and my observations about how this technique influences the participant's dying process. I will share my perspective and define music therapy entrainment.