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Therapy suitable for many situations

Kathryn Cotter, left, accompanies Jeannie Allen in a song during the Opus I Music Society's program last week. As a music therapist, Cotter talked about how she has used the power of song to improve lives.

ADAMS TWP — Guitar in hand, Kathryn Cotter was faced with a situation of immense sadness.

A licensed music therapist, Cotter was called to the bedside of a dying man who was no longer verbally responding to his loved ones. His wife, facing the thought of losing her spouse, was “fussing,” that is, attempting to care for her husband. The room was filled with anxiety and stress.

Enter The King.

Cotter was able to have enough of a conversation with the wife to learn that she and her husband were fans of Elvis. She began strumming the chords to “Can't Help Falling in Love,” the singer's 1961 hit. It was enough to calm the wife, who stopped hovering and sat at her husband's bedside.

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