health topics > natural therapy >>  Topics >>> MUSIC THERAPY

Music therapy is now an established health service similar to occupational therapy and physical therapy. Music therapists use music to facilitate changes that are non-musical in nature. The use of music for those with arthritis provides opportunity for pain relief, anxiety and stress reduction and positive changes in both mood and emotional state.
 

Music Helps to Ease Arthritis Pain

Scientists in Florida have found that just 20 minutes a day of music was enough for patients to report more than a 50% reduction in pain levels. Over the 14-day listening period, the amount of natural pain relief continued to increase

The Music of your Dreams - Music and Your Mind

From the beginning of time, music has played an important part in the lives of men. There's something in the rhythm and cadence that leads to deeper states of consciousness. This beat and rhythm echoes through every ethnic group - African, Australian, Native American, Oriental, all use drums, rhythm instruments and dancing to move them to greater heights.
 

Can't Sleep? Try Listening To Some Music

Having trouble sleeping? Turn on some slow, soft music. A study found that people with sleep problems showed improvement after listening to soft music.

 

What Is It?

Music therapy is the use of music to induce relaxation, promote healing, enhance mental functioning, and create an overall sense of well-being. Individuals doing music therapy typically listen to or create music under the guidance of a specially trained and certified music therapist. Considered one of the "creative arts therapies" or "expressive therapies" (which include art, dance, poetry, and drama therapies, as well as psychodrama), music therapy can be used alone or in conjunction with other therapies or healing treatments.

Music therapists work with all age groups, from infants to the elderly, and can be found in a variety of settings, including private practice, schools, senior centers and nursing homes, outpatient clinics, psychiatric and medical hospitals, and hospices.
 

Music as therapy is almost as old as civilization itself. The ancient Greek philosophers believed that music could facilitate healing, as did early Native Americans, who used chanting and other musical practices as part of their healing rituals. In the United States, music therapy as a formal discipline was first employed during World War I to help disabled soldiers in Veterans Administration hospitals. The first music therapy degrees were granted in the 1940s, and the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) was founded in 1950 (under a different name).

How Does It Work?

Most people tend to experience a visceral reaction to music: a burst of energy upon hearing an upbeat song or a sense of calm during a soothing classical piece. Music therapy harnesses this connection between music and mood. Moreover, scientific studies show that music can affect physiological functions, such as respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. Music has also been shown to lower amounts of the hormone cortisol, which becomes elevated under stress, and to increase the release of endorphins, the body’s natural "feel-good" hormones.

Music therapists often use music to communicate. With its beat, melody, and lyrics, music is a kind of language in and of itself. Because of this, music therapy can be used to help persons with mental and physical disabilities express themselves. It can also encourage introverted patients to become more outgoing and can be used to reduce isolation for people with autism or schizophrenia. Music therapy also can be beneficial for people who have had strokes and others with neurological problems through a process called "entrainment." When patients listen to rhythmic music, their muscle movements become synchronized with the beat. As their motions become more regular and efficient, their motor skills improve in turn. Entrainment can also induce a sedative, relaxing response if the music has a slow, steady rhythm.

Music therapy can also distract patients from negative thoughts, feelings, and experiences. For example, music therapy has been effective at helping keep people's minds from dwelling on the pain of dental work, surgery, and labor.

What You Can Expect

Because music therapists work in many different settings and with many different kinds of patients, treatment programs and durations vary.

If you consult a music therapist for a particular condition, the therapist will first talk to you about your symptoms and needs. In addition, the therapist will assess your emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, and cognitive skills through your musical responses. Using this information, an appropriate treatment program will then be designed, which will probably include playing and listening to music, analyzing lyrics, composing songs, improvising, and/or using rhythmic movement.

During your regular sessions, the therapist may participate in these activities with you or simply guide you. You may also be encouraged to talk about the images or feelings that are evoked by the music.

You and your therapist will select the music used for your therapy according to your needs and tastes. You can choose any kind of music, from classical or new age to jazz or rock. You do not need to have previous musical experience or even musical ability to undergo music therapy.

Some music therapy is conducted in a group setting. You might perform music with others who have the same ailment or condition as you, or interact and relax with others as music plays in the background. If you are in the hospital for surgery or to give birth, your music therapy might simply entail listening to your favorite songs to help you relax and reduce pain.

Health Benefits

Studies have shown that music therapy can be effective at promoting relaxation, relieving anxiety and stress, and treating depression. It has been studied in hospitalized patients with burns, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Music therapy allows people with emotional problems to explore feelings, make positive changes in mood, practice problem solving, and resolve conflicts, and has been useful in Group therapy in mental health institutions.

As a complement to rehabilitation care, it can strengthen communication and physical coordination skills, and improve the physical and mental functioning of those with neurological disabilities or developmental disorders. It is useful in newborn care of premature infants, and when children undergo medical and surgical procedures. Those with learning disabilities and speech and hearing problems may also find music therapy helpful. Music therapy can be used to reduce the need for medication during childbirth and to complement the use of anesthesia during surgery and dental work. It is also used to help ease chronic pain.

Music therapy can also improve the quality of life of terminally ill patients and enhance the well-being of the elderly, including those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. It has also been used to complement the treatment of AIDS, stroke, Parkinson's, and cancer, and support the families of ill patients. Given the broad nature of such applications, formal reviews of the music therapy studies are needed to reach conclusions as to how many people could by helped by music therapy for their condition. At this point, most such reviews have been published by the American Music Therapy Association.

Cautions

Music therapy is not for everyone. Some people become agitated by the therapy and some do not respond to it at all.

If you have a specific symptom that you'd like treated with music therapy, consult your primary-care physician first to rule out any serious underlying medical problems.

 

The information contained in this web site is for educational purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified medical provider for all medical problems prior to starting any new treatment

Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites.