Music therapy is common on medical/surgical units, Intensive Care Units, etc. but is less common in surgical areas of the hospital. Because music therapy is less common in this area, Lane, Palmer, & Chen (2019) conducted a survey study to see what the perception of music and music therapy are amongst hospital staff, patients, and families involved in surgery. In a span of 3 months, 249 surgical patients, 248 family members, and 93 surgeons, were surveyed at the Mather Surgery Center at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. Of these individuals, 93% thought listening to music could be beneficial during surgery. Furthermore, 74% were open to live music before surgery, 84%…
I consider myself an eclectic music therapist. Depending on the client and their goals/objectives, I might use a variety of approaches during a session. Knowing that music can be a real motivator for change, I might use the behavioral approach for working on socialization or communication goals. However, if a client’s speech is the main focus, I might resort to using a variety of Neurologic Music Therapy techniques depending on the source of the problem or what the exact goal/objective may be. However, I feel very strongly that the clients themselves, if possible, needs to direct their own therapy and I am there to facilitate that process which is considered…
Alzheimer’s Disease has no cure and is a degenerative disease that causes cognitive and behavioral impairments. Depression and anxiety are symptoms that are often experienced with Alzheimer’s Disease. When anxious or stressed, levels of cortisol increased in blood, saliva, sweat, hair, and urine. In, “Does Music Therapy improve Anxiety and Depression in Alzheimer’s Patients?”, De La Rubia Orti, et al look into if music therapy can reduce cortisol levels in Alzheimer’s patients. 25 patients with mild-stage Alzheimer’s Disease, with similar medication and dosages, participated in the study. Saliva samples were collected directly after the music therapy sessions in order to accurately measure the levels of cortisol post treatment. During music…
Music therapy has been a growing treatment option for military populations. In fact music therapy as a profession finds its origins in the military settings of World War I and World War II Veterans as music for wounded soldiers was included as a part of reconditioning treatment. In “Music Therapy Treatment of Active Duty Military: A Overview of Intensive Outpatient and Longitudinal Care Programs”, two music therapy programs working with military populations are outlined. In two settings, The National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (NICoE) and Intrepid Spirit Center at Fort Belvior Community Hospital (ISFB), music therapy is used as a supportive treatment for…
In a pediatric rehabilitation setting, Leung (2008) collaborated with a Speech-Language Pathologist in the case of an 11-year-old male, Sam, who sustained severe injuries from a collision with a barbed wire fence while riding a four-wheel motorcycle. Due to the severity of Sam’s injuries, he was referred to Leung for improved verbal articulation and communication by the speech-language pathologist. Using a co-treatment collaboration model, the music therapist and speech-language pathologist used song singing and drum and vocal improvisation. Song singing provided Sam a predictable structure enabling them to focus and become distracted from unfamiliar sensations experienced with a speaking valve, ultimately increasing his tolerance for the speaking valve. Drum and…
For many individuals, music is a strong part of their environment. Music can be an individual’s go-to on tough days, pump-up for working out, a hobby, a career, and even an identifier. Within every culture, music has more than likely played a role in one way or another. In an article by Cunha written in October of 2016 titled Musicking Together: Affective, Cognitive and Physical Aspects of a Music Therapy Group Work, music showed its true colors as an identifier within a Community Music Therapy (CoMT) group that consisted of five women, six students, and a teacher. Collective music making within a group consists of interpersonal relationships and collaborative practice,…
Youth living within low-resource communities are at a greater risk for poorer socio-emotional development. A youth’s socio-emotional competence includes their ability to use one’s skills and knowledge for navigation within different environments, interactions with others, and adapting to expectations. Music therapy clinicians often serve children and youth who have experienced threats to their adaptation resulting from exposure to social, cultural, or economic stressors. Pasiali and Clark decided to examine the potential benefit a music therapy social skills development program may have on improving social skills and academic performance of school-aged children who have limited resources in afterschool programs. For this study, participants were recruited from an afterschool program delivered in…
It is often difficult to get a glimpse of music therapy in psychiatric settings due to necessary privacy laws. However, Johnson & Heiderscheit (2018) conducted a survey of music therapists working in adolescent inpatient mental health units to get a clearer picture of the overall work music therapists are doing in the adolescent psychiatric setting. The researchers developed a 35 question survey that asked about the structure of music therapy sessions, common goals, interventions (or activities within music therapy sessions), and what factors influence their decisions about what interventions to use. Fifty-One surveys were completed in their entirety and sent back to the researchers for use in the study.…
When you take the time to go to therapy for a particular ailment or need rehabilitation, you expect it to work, right? Doctors prescribe therapy for treatment, maybe to eliminate symptoms caused by an injury or illness. Finding a historical article that highlights the success of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) was revolutionary for me today. Anytime you find proof that what you are doing is working, that brings a sense of relief and pride, does it not? The authors wanted to give a short review of “evidence based highlighting the importance of adding music to more standard forms of rehabilitation therapy” (p. 1). They do give a brief history of…
Music therapy is used in both inpatient and outpatient mental health settings to support patients in their recovery process. Music therapists use a variety of interventions to achieve interdisciplinary goals outlined for each patient. A 2016 study conducted in Ireland examined six mental health patient’s experiences in music therapy and ways they felt participation in music therapy aided their recovery process. Participants described their experiences with music therapy during one or two interviews, which were then transcribed and analyzed for different themes using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Each of the six patients described a unique relationship with the music and personal benefits of participation in music therapy. One participant felt that…