One Therapist One Patient: A Success Story

Editor's Note: The following article differs from most of the papers we publish, which are program descriptions or research studies. It describes the work of one hospital staff member with one patient—a music therapist and a man who had been hospitalized for nearly 25 years. Through her skill and patience, the therapist got the man to do many things he had not done in years: play his guitar for others, ride in a car, and go shopping. Eventually she persuaded him to move from the hospital farm to the hospital, where he became her assistant. He is now living in a foster home.

We believe the story embodies the hope, patience, and humanity that many hospital staff members invest in patients considered hopeless by others. Their work usually goes unrecognized in the professional literature. Yet it is just such efforts that succeed when formal programs and research fail.