Sound Healing Helps

Alzheimer’s Patients

Nearly 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease and many do not even know it. By the year 2050, it is estimated that this number will more than triple. In Connecticut alone, approximately 100,000 are affected.

Alzheimer’s is progressive, degenerative, and ultimately fatal. There is no cure.

November is National Alzheimer’s Month across the nation. At The Homesteads at Newtown, a senior rental living community, a unique support group has been formed for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. The group is guided by a spiritual drummer, the Rev Bob Werme.

Rev Werme is a Congregational minister with experience as a workshop leader, group facilitator, and a professional musician. He uses music, primarily drumming, as a healing modality and as such, brings a unique added dimension to a support group meeting. Rev Werme practices what he calls “sound healing” or “sacred soundwork” and has been doing so with hospice and Alzheimer’s patients for a number of years.

Since The Homesteads at Newtown operates a specialized Alzheimer’s unit, the staff witnesses on a day-to-day basis the devastation this disease causes. Support groups are an essential way for family and caregivers to find valuable community resources and practical information and also can be a great source of comfort, said Homesteads owner Linda Silberstein.

“A support group with a leader who fully understands the disease’s impact can guide group discussions and help everyone to understand the behavior of the loved one with Alzheimer’s,” she said.

The Homesteads at Newtown is affiliated with the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. For more information about the support group, contact Dana Paul or Ms Silberstein at The Homesteads, 426-8118.