Celebrating Music Therapy Week

Music Therapy Week is celebrated April 10–15 each year, and Mary Washington Hospice is honored to highlight the work of our music therapist, Cheryl Lynn Olson.

Mary Washington Hospice’s primary goal is to ensure comfort and dignity for patients facing a life-limiting illness. This work focuses on effective pain and symptom management, as well as emotional support to patients and their families. Mary Washington Hospice is the only hospice in the Fredericksburg region to offer expressive therapies including music therapy. 

Music therapy can offer profound comfort at the end of life. Through familiar songs, personalized melodies or gentle music, patients can express emotions, recall meaningful memories and experience a sense of peace and connection. This nonverbal form of support helps ease emotional distress and improve overall well-being during a vulnerable time. 

In addition to emotional benefits, music therapy offers physical benefits such as lowering heart rate, reducing blood pressure and easing pain. It also encourages shared experiences with loved ones and caregivers, fostering connection and dignity in patients’ final days. 

Mary Washington Hospice’s music therapist Cheryl Lynn offers a deeply meaningful service to patients and families. She records the patient's heartbeat and sets it to a meaningful song chosen by the family, creating a keepsake that families can listen to and cherish for years to come. 

"Cheryl Lynn is an outstanding music therapist who has elevated the hospice music program to a new level,” said her supervisor, Jennifer Moore. “She introduced the beautiful practice of blending a patient’s recorded heartbeat with their favorite song, creating a cherished keepsake for families to hold onto after their loved one’s passing." 

We wish Cheryl Lynn a very happy Music Therapy Week and recognize the profound impact music therapists have on the lives of patients and families alike. Their work nurtures emotional well-being, fosters meaningful connections and brings comfort during life’s most vulnerable moments.