The Impact of Group Singing on Patients With Stroke and Their Personal Caregivers

The study will focus on the impact of communal singing on patients with stroke and their personal caregivers. Forty post-stroke patients will be randomly assigned to two groups: the first group of 20 stroke survivors and their caregivers (up to 40 total participants) will receive 6 months (approximately 24 sessions) of music therapy. The second control groups of 20 stroke survivors and their caregivers will receive standard post-stroke care. All enrolled participants will be assessed on their mood, past music experience and music genre preference (music therapy assessment). They will complete the abridged Beck (BDI-2-fastscreen) questionnaire, the stoke and aphasia quality of life scale; a Likert which measures distress; the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB); the NIH Stroke Scale (SS); the Figely compassion scale; and the driving scene test (Stern and White); and the Rankin. In additional we will take saliva samples from all participants to measure hormone levels. Participants can attend zoom or live.