Music Therapy Assessment

Music Therapy Assessment and Treatment

Like all types of therapies, music therapy cannot begin until the patient has been assessed by the therapist. Music therapy assessment is similar in theory to the assessment done by any other medical practitioner: the therapist evaluates the patient, determines the patient’s needs, addresses the patient’s concerns about the therapy process, and then creates a therapy program tailored to that specific patient.

But music therapy assessment differs from medical assessment in many ways as well. Whereas a medical doctor asks about the patient’s symptoms, decides on the cause and suggests a cure or treatment, the music therapist cannot quickly determine the needs of the patient based on a simple conversation. Many music therapists need more than just a few minutes with a patient; they require extended exposure to the patient in the form of conversation, observation and sometimes even analysis of the patient’s environment before they can accurately determine what type of treatment would work well for the specific individual.

Once the music therapist has determined the needs of the patient, they still have to create a treatment plan. Music therapy assessment plays into this step as the therapist uses what he or she observes and learns from the patient to adjust the treatment plan accordingly. Music therapists often create completely unique treatment plans for each patient because each patient has specific, distinctive traits, symptoms, and needs that are different from those of any other patient. Rarely will a music therapy assessment lead a music therapist to exactly the same treatment plan that he or she has used before.

This is not to say, however, that a music therapy assessment and treatment plan will not lead the therapist to specific treatment tools. In fact, there are methods of treatment in music therapy – as there are in psychiatric therapy or any other therapy – that are used to treat certain illnesses. For example, an Autistic patient can expect his therapist to use treatment methods that have been found to be successful in Autism patients. However, there are many different methods for each illness and the combinations of these treatment methods will differ with each patient.

The multitude of treatment methods for each illness and ailment is wonderful because it allows the music therapist to choose from a wide range of possibilities to treat each individual. However, the sheer number of potential treatments makes it even more important that the music therapy assessment is performed by a qualified music therapist who has extensive experience with the patient’s type of illness. The more experience a music therapist has with Autism, for example, the better he or she can treat the many different types of Autism that affect the population.

Music Therapy Cancer

Music Therapy Cancer Treatments

One of the most interesting applications of music therapy is in cancer treatment. Music therapy cancer treatments are very helpful to a wide variety of patients who suffer from a large range of cancers. While music therapy cancer treatments don’t actually affect the disease itself – meaning that the tumor will not show any physical signs of improvement – the treatments and therapies will greatly affect the mood of the patient, and sometimes that can make all the difference in the way the patient deals with and feels about the disease.

The American Cancer Society has published several articles about the benefits of music therapy cancer treatments. One from 2004 discusses some of the more specific research done on cancer patients who have received music therapy. The music therapy cancer treatments used were diverse, as were the types of cancers that the patients suffered from. Most of the patients in the study suffered from multiple myeloma, Hodgkin disease, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The reason the study chose to work with these particular cancer patients is because they were undergoing typical medical cancer treatments like autologous stem cell transplant and high-dose chemotherapy. These treatments are exceptionally rigorous on the patient, causing symptoms like anorexia, fevers, and fatigue. But more than these problems, most intense are the emotional rigors of the treatments. These were the symptoms that were best helped by the music therapy cancer treatments.

The music treatments commonly used to treat cancer patients are varied; however, most patients in this study received music therapy in the form of live music played by a trained music therapist. The results of the music therapy cancer treatments in this particular study were fascinating. According to the researchers, patients reported a great improvement in mood. The more anxious patients reported a lessening of their anxiety symptoms. Meanwhile, patients who were experiencing other mood-lowering symptoms like depression reported having an overall elevated mood.

Because of all of the positive results from the multiple successful music therapy cancer treatments used all over the country, music therapy is now offered in many hospitals. There are more therapies than just the live music therapy discussed above. Some patients have used music therapy cancer treatments like music activities. Music activities – often involving writing song lyrics or playing an instrument – have been shown to greatly decrease anxiety in cancer patients. Of course, as with all types of therapy, these music therapy cancer treatments should be done with the help of a trained music therapist. Music therapists work with the individual patient to find the best therapies for that patient.

What is Art Therapy?

Art therapy is simply the professional therapeutic ability to use artwork that has been done by individuals who desire personal development. This development has not been able to be achieved, due to trauma, personal crisis, illness, and certain challenges that have affected their life.

People of all ages use art therapy, done by a professional art therapist who has been trained extensively about the human development, artistic traditions in a multitude of cultures, psychological theories, and the healing abilities regarding the use of art. Services are provided to these individuals through art therapy because they cannot articulate through words, emotions, and feelings about their true state of mind.

The professional settings that participate with art therapy methods are mental health services, rehabilitation, medical institutions, education services, nursing homes, corporations, forensic agencies, community outreach, and independent practices.

Strict standards for art therapy have been established by the American Art Therapy Association, Inc. (AATA) and The Art Therapy Credentials Board, Inc. (ATCB). Some individual states regulate their own practices of art therapy, while other states allow art therapists to become licensed counselors or mental health therapists. These art therapists utilize art-based assessment instruments to determine their client’s level of functioning. From this they are able to formulate a certain level of treatment objectives, decide what strengths and weaknesses their client has, gaining a better understanding of who their client is and the problems they have, and be able to evaluate their client’s progress.

The Master level of training and education for an art therapist is mandatory, as ensuring the appropriate usage and application of drawing tests, evaluation of the instrument validity, and its reliability is extremely important to better serve the client. According to Donna J. Betts, Ph.D., ATR-BC, in her 2005 Doctoral Dissertation, some of the top art therapy tests that can be used are:

• Favorite Kind of Day (AFKOD)
• Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT)
• Bird’s Nest Drawing (BND)
• Bridge Drawing
• Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS)
• Child Diagnostic Drawing Series (CDDS)

Rating instruments are also investigated, which can include:

• Descriptive Assessment of Psychiatric Art (DAPA)
• DDS Rating Guide and Drawing Analysis Form (DAF)
• Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS).

These are just a few of the art therapy assessment tools that can be used by art therapists, in clinical settings or in research. Each art therapy tool is a  structured assessment that are collected under standardized conditions. Most are developed to provide a compatibility with psychological testing and psychiatric evaluations:

• Art Therapy-Projective Imagery Assessment (ATPIA)
• Draw-A-Story Screening for Depression (DAS)
• Used to identify children and adolescents at risk for harming others or themselves.
• Through the artwork, it can be seen that significant differences will emerge between aggressive and non-aggressive groups in its emotional content and self-image, in addition to