Music And Therapy: The Benefits Of Music Therapy

1254 Words3 Pages

Music and sounds have the power to effect one’s thoughts and emotions. Certain tones, pitches, lyrics, and melodies can invoke happiness, sadness, relief, and confidence. To achieve these emotions with music, many people find it helpful to enroll into music therapy. According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals. These goals may be to manage stress, promote wellness, alleviate pain, enhance memory, or express feelings. Music therapy is widely used in hospital and other inpatient settings, furthermore in outpatient settings and personal use. It is studied in patients and family with cardiac issues, cancer, psychiatric cases, and as general palliative care, as well as other fields. It has been found that women preparing for labor received the greatest benefit of music therapy, followed by medical procedures and occupational stress. (Elliot, 2011)
Music is a low-cost intervention that often reduces surgical, procedural, acute, and chronic pain. Music also improves the quality of life for patients receiving palliative care, enhancing a sense of comfort and relaxation. Providing music to caregivers may be a cost-effective and enjoyable strategy to improve empathy, compassion, and relationship-centered care while not increasing errors or interfering with technical aspects of care. (Kemper, 2005). This is why many physicians will listen to music while performing a procedure. When a person is going through a medical procedure or battling a serious illness or disease, the family is also effected, if not more than the patient is. It may be the patient’s health, but it is the family’s and caregiver’s emotions. Music therapy c...

... middle of paper ...

... to pass on, singing “We’ll meet beyond the shore, we’ll kiss just as before.” This showed an acceptance of what was inevitable. After David was discharged from music therapy, he had passed on a week later. This study demonstrates the power of music therapy with association to grief and mourning. The song choices helped to promote a communication between the husband and wife, and the neurologically impaired David was able to sing words that he was unable to express on his own. (Bailey, 1984). The power of music is incredible, and has the ability to say what we are unable to.
The major goal of music therapy is overall stress reduction, whether it be related to social situation or a physical ailment. (Elliot, 2010). Whether you find nature sound to be pain alleviating, or classical music to be stress reducing, is entirely up to the patient/family and music therapist.

More about Music And Therapy: The Benefits Of Music Therapy

Open Document