Articles on Music Therapy

Today’s society is filled with people trying to find alternative remedies to illnesses. There are many reasons for this, from lack of health insurance to the desire to avoid medication. But whatever the reason, many alternative therapies, like music therapy, have grown in popularity. In fact, music therapy has not only gained popularity, it has also gained recognition as a medical profession. This has led many students interested in careers helping others to seek degrees in music therapy.

Of course, both students and people who are seeking relief from ailments are searching for information about music therapy. This is where articles on music therapy become important. Articles on music therapy can help educate non-professionals about this professional field. Professionally written articles, such as research articles, are the best way to go for those who are looking for information regarding the proven benefits of music therapy. These articles will give the reader an idea of what types of music therapy techniques have been used in which situations, and how those techniques have fared when compared to traditional therapy methods.

For example, a person interested in using music therapy to treat chronic pain would want to search for articles on music therapy that dealt with the results of research performed on chronic pain patients. These articles will give the person an idea of the music therapy techniques that seem to work the best on chronic pain patients – such as utilizing music as a distraction from pain, or as a relaxation method to reduce physical stress that can enhance the brain’s perception of pain. Articles on music therapy allow the reader to see how music therapy is used in chronic pain patients and what he or she can expect from music therapists for his or her particular condition. The reader can also choose the technique that seems best to him or her and suggest that to his or her music therapist.

Whether the reader is a student or a potential music therapy patient, it is extremely important for him or her to know how to determine the validity of the articles on music therapy he or she is reading. The best resources are available at the library; published articles are written by scholarly authors with formal background in the subject. If the library is not an option, the interested person can look for legitimate articles on music therapy on the internet. A good tip for this person is to look for articles published on websites hosted by professional music therapy organizations like the American Music Therapy Association. Articles on music therapy from these organizations will be accurate and up-to-date.

Using Art Therapy for Children

Art therapy for children is when a Master-level art therapist uses the child’s unique and personal drawings in order to better understand the problems the child faces within their hidden subconscious. Used for children, adolescents, and adults–art therapy is used more often with the smaller child as they have much more difficulty in putting their emotions and feelings into words, with artwork used as a form of safe symbolic realism that cannot hurt them.

Also used as a tool for art therapy assessments, the child’s artwork assists the art therapist to better understand what the child cannot, paying special attention to the piece of art and what it represents–the theme, sequence, size, different pressure used to draw it, different types of strokes, and the tiniest details of what the child has put into the picture. Art therapy for children shows the child’s emotions and feelings they cannot talk about, such as anger, resentment, hidden sexual abuse issues, violence in their homes, chaos in their lives, and many other issues the children are not aware of themselves as they have hidden it to avoid the pain and trauma.

Art therapy for children involve three participants with no influence from anyone else–the therapist, the child, and the artwork with the hidden message the child is secretly revealing subconsciously. To use children’s art for the psychotherapeutic purpose of seeing what is uppermost in their minds is actually more genuine and spontaneous in contacting the subconscious, than the traditional talk therapy.

Not all children respond positively to art therapy for children, as some become even more frightened when they see their picture with the fears they have hid so long. Then it is up to the art therapist to keep the child’s issues on an impersonal level, keeping the discussion of the child’s fears and problems within the picture’s metaphor. According to many successful cases, eventually the child will work on some new ideas and concepts that is put in front of them by the art therapist using the art therapy for children program. Over time, they will become comfortable with facing their fears, their new feelings and emotions, and be able to move forward.

Art Therapy for Children faces unique issues when it comes to children with fatal diseases, such as cancer. And it is demonstrated that how the child responds to their illness depends a lot on how their own family talks to them about it, helping them face the fact they have such a disease and what it is about. Unfortunately, the parents of terminally ill children feel that if they do not discuss the disease with the child, the child will not recognize what is going on. In truth, when the child is held in darkness, they will feel more isolated and afraid than if they knew the actual truth.

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 Schools

Choosing the Best Music Therapy Schools

Choosing a school is never a simple task.  When you are trying to find a place that will guide you toward your academic and personal goals, not all music therapy schools are made alike.  You need to weigh several factors in choosing the program that’s right for you.  While this process is time consuming, the best music therapy schools are out there – if only you a few hours of your time to carefully consider your options.

The first thing that most people look for in music therapy schools is their accreditation status.  You generally want to apply to programs where the curriculum has been verified by the national accreditation board so that you can potentially teach at higher education systems or transfer your credits to another program later in your learning.  It is simple enough to find the answer to this question – ask the school enrollment office when you sign up for more information.  They will let you know if you are looking at an accredited school or not.  While there’s nothing necessary wrong with a non-accredited school, it can limit your career options down the road.

The next thing to look for in music therapy schools is the price.  Though student loans and grants are often used to help pay for education these days, that doesn’t mean that you need to borrow a bunch of money to get your degree.  Find programs that are reasonable in cost so that you can focus on what you are learning, rather than what you are paying for the education you are receiving.  It will help to determine a range of prices for your schooling as well as to figure out what you can afford to pay each month, if they offer a monthly installment plan.  Limiting the amount of money you need to borrow is always good advice.

But it’s the programs at music therapy schools that you should really focus on.  Look at the classes they offer, when they are offered, and who the teachers are.  You want to sign up at a school where the teachers are already professional music therapists as they can give you a better idea of what to expect in your career and what you need to learn before you will be ready.  Though the reputation of a school might be something that’s appealing to you, another factor to consider is class size.  You don’t want to be lost in the masses of a larger school when you could be going to a lesser know, but still solid school, getting the attention you need.

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.

Music Therapy Research

A Brief Overview of Music Therapy Research

Music therapy can be used for a wide range of illnesses, cognitive problems, and emotional issues. Because of the positive reactions of music therapy patients, a large amount of music therapy research has been done to test the theories behind why, how and if music therapy actually works. While the results differ with the various applications and techniques, in general music therapy research has established that music therapy is an acceptable and legitimate health care profession.

There has been extensive music therapy research done on various areas of the health care field, and some of the most difficult patients with the most difficult to treat problems have shown improvement, if sometimes temporary, when they have been exposed to music therapy. For example, Alzheimer’s patients suffer from numerous problems such as cognitive dysfunctions, social behavior issues, and motor skill problems. In music therapy research, cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s patients is treated by subjecting the patient to three different types of music therapy treatments: musically cued reminiscence, verbally cued reminiscence, and musical activity. While musically and verbally cued reminiscence did improve certain brain functions and even could increase language abilities in some patients, the most significant difference was found in patients who were exposed to musical activities. In fact, music therapy research showed that these musical activities – like using songs to promote reminiscence and discussion – actually raised patients’ cognitive testing scores.

But cognitive disabilities and illnesses are not the only health problems that can be treated successfully with music therapy. Music therapy is often used for patients who suffer from chronic pain. In the chronic pain studies, different types of pain patients were studied to see how music therapy would improve pain problems caused by various medical problems. Chronic pain patients in general are helped by music therapy because the perception of pain and the perception of music are essentially the same in terms of the way the brain perceives each sensation. Music is used to cancel out the vibrations of pain, often eliminating - or at least decreasing - the brain’s perception of the pain.

Music therapy has a very high success rate in pain patients who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and other ongoing illnesses. But there is also a high rate of success when music is used to treat the pain of temporary pain, like the pain of labor and childbirth. In fact, music therapy research shows that when used in the labor and delivery room, music can help a laboring mother to lower her amount of pain. Cancer patients, especially children, are often exposed to music therapy treatments that involve singing; this treatment has been shown to boost the child’s immune system.

Natural Healing and Music for Autism

For parents who have autistic children, there is no type of therapy left unexplored.  If it is even suggested that a particular form of therapy could be beneficial to their child, most parents will try it to see for themselves.  Natural healing is one of the ways many parents attempt to enhance their autistic child’s learning.  This can include diet, speech therapy, play therapy, sensory therapy and music therapy.  It is commonly believed that a combination of different remedies will best help the child in coping with autism and allow them to learn at a faster pace.  While many different therapies are effective, music therapy seems to cross many boundaries and assist in all aspects of other learning.  Even if it si not the main source, it can enhance other forms of therapy.

In people without autism, music can be soothing, inspiring and incite the senses.  Because autistic children are often sensitive to sound and seem to be attuned to music, the benefits most people find in music can be especially helpful with autism.  It is a non verbal and non threatening way to enhance situations and to calm the child.  It can also be used as a tool to increase the ability to learn.  It can be used in conjunction with speech therapy in order to speed up the understanding of vocabulary and language patterns.

Social situations, commonly difficult for autistic children, are much easier with the assistance of music in the classroom.  For example, you can use music to encourage autistic children to sit together and interact.  You can even encourage eye contact with the use of clapping in time to the music or using cymbals.  Silly songs and fun beats can often incite smiles in laughter in otherwise stoic children.  For those who have difficulty following the rules, making rules to music can be highly successful. 

Music also soothes the senses and can make a stressful situation seem calmer.  This can help the autistic child in a number of ways across of number of learning opportunities.  Motor skills can be enhanced by practicing physical activities to a beat.  Musical ability is also often displayed in those who have autism.  While not every child is the same, many autistic children are sensitive to musicality.  Some have good singing voices, others can mimic sounds, some may have perfect pitch and others may be able to play an instrument easily by ear.  Regardless, theses skills can all b used to enhance other areas of learning.

Speech problems are typical in autistic children but with the use of music, they can learn vocabulary and sentence structure.  It is common for autistic children to speak in monosyllabic tones but this can gradually dissipate with the use of music therapy as a natural healing remedy.  Children will often understand how to structure a question as opposed to a statement or use an exclamation appropriately when initially taught via music. 

Therapists who use music as a tool to enhance the teaching process to autistic children report a high rate of success.  Parents and teachers alike should try music therapy as a means to enhance their autistic child’s learning ability. It is also highly successful as a natural healing remedy to soothe when in a stressful situation. 

Music Therapy Degree

Do You Want a Music Therapy Degree?

More people are choosing the music therapy degree path than ever before because of its ability to help people in a therapeutic setting. Not only will you be able to work with people from different backgrounds, but you will also be able to help in a variety of therapy situations. By taking the time to learn more about how to pursue your music therapy degree, you will be able to make the decision as to whether this field is something that’s right for you.

A music therapy degree is a multi-faceted study. Not only will you learn how to listen to music in order to use it for therapeutic purposes, but you will also be learning how to use singing, writing lyrics, and dancing as a part of your sessions with patients. With so many applications, music therapy allows you to custom fit the therapy to the patient, no matter what their obstacles or mental concerns.

But a music therapy degree isn’t for everyone. Because you need to interact in a personal way with patients, you need to have excellent communication skills as well as patience. You need to be willing to work with a patient at a speed that works for them. While you might create a plan of action for the patient, you need to be ready and willing to change the plan if the patient is unable to make the goals you have both set.

It takes a special person to finish a music therapy degree. You must love to work with people and you might also have a genuine love and appreciation for music of all kinds. Since different patients are going to respond to different kinds of music, you will need to know various types of music intimately to help choose the right songs or sounds for your particular patient.

You can find music therapy degree programs at many local universities and colleges. Simply look at the psychology department to see if they offer a specific program in this therapy. If not, you might be able to take a course or two in the practice of music therapy and utilize it within a traditional therapy degree.

There are many opportunities for those with a music therapy degree, including private and group practice as well as nursing homes and rehabilitation services. The diversity of your employers allows you to choose the setting that works best for you and for the clients you hope to help.

By majoring in music therapy, you are getting into a growing field of professionals who want to harness the power of the mind to change the life of a patient. While not everyone responds immediately to any therapeutic practice, you can know that you are doing your part to help someone in need of help.

What is the Definition of Music Therapy?

The definition of music therapy varies from person to person. If you are asking a professional what music therapy is, you will get a technical and logical explanation of the methods and the uses. If you ask a patient, you might get a list of the benefits as well as the techniques they use in their everyday lives. Each definition is accurate, but it’s also a bit more complicated than even these two outlooks can contain. The definition of music therapy is not just about the ‘what’ and the ‘how,’ it’s also about the ‘who’ and the ‘where.’

When you begin the definition of music therapy, you need to acknowledge the presence of music in the therapy practice. Music can be used in a variety of ways – through listening, sharing and even by creating it in the office setting. As the patient listens to and talks about the music, they are shifting the brain chemicals and waves in their head, helping them be able to process problems they might be having along with allowing them to feel more relaxed and open to solutions to those problems.

Patients might be asked to listen to specific songs as a part of the definition of music therapy. Other therapists might have the patients bring in music they want to hear or share. Still other therapists will have their patients write out new lyrics to songs to help them process difficult things in their lives, while still other therapists will ask clients to listen to music and to figure out what it means to them – a sort of Rorschach test for their moods and their mental health.

The good news is that the definition of music therapy can extend to a variety of groups and problems. Not only is music therapy good for music lovers, but it’s also a good tool for those with mobility programs or those in physical rehabilitation centers. You might also find the soothing music played in the background of a therapeutic setting helps you talk about difficult feelings and events that you wish to share with your therapist, even if the music is never directly addressed in the session itself.

You can find music therapy in a variety of settings for all ages. Some after school care centers like to use music to help children learn to interact with each other, while hospice care centers use music to help patients deal with pain or with their own grief. Those who are in physical therapy might find that high energy music helps to motivate them and to make them push through their goals while those with Alzheimer’s may have more ‘good’ days because they listen to music they are familiar with –from times they can still remember.

What is Music Therapy?

When you ask the question, “What is music therapy?” you’re bound to get a number of answers.  Many of these answers vary depending on the experience of the person who you are asking.  From patients to therapists, each answer may be different, but they all reveal the power of music therapy to help others.  Here are some of the ways, “What is music therapy?” can be answered.

If you were to ask a patient, “What is music therapy?” you might hear that it is something they are using to help overcome a number of problems.  From psychological to physical, music therapy can help soothe the nerves of a patient and make them more receptive to therapeutic suggestions and advice.  They might describe a typical session as including themselves, a therapist and a CD player or mp3 player.  In this session, they might listen to music in the background or they might be encouraged to bring their own music to share.  In listening to the music, they might feel more relaxed and able to share their feelings through the lyrics or the tone of the songs themselves.

Other patients might answer “What is music therapy?” by talking about writing lyrics or dancing to the music in their therapist’s office.  Each client and each goal is going to yield a different form of the music therapy and practice.  While one patient might simply like soothing music in the background as they talk – others might like angry music to stir up the feelings of anger they want to work through.

Those who are not in therapy might think that the answer to “What is music therapy?” is actually something they’ve learned on their own.  When they are upset or stressed, they might turn on a favorite song to help them work through these feelings.  Or if they are having a hard workout, they might turn on faster paced music to help them get through the tough parts.  If you were having a hard time in your relationship, you might listen to the music from your wedding to help you recall the loving feelings you have about your spouse.  It’s all music therapy.

For therapists who get asked, “What is music therapy?” a lot, they might answer that it is a tool that can be used to help clients reveal more of themselves in a session or that it is a way that a therapist and a patient can communicate without talking.  In playing a certain song, for example, a patient can show the therapist which lyrics feel like they are feeling right then and then the therapist can work with this information.

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