Music
Therapy
“And
here is the Art therapy room,” said my supervisor as we walked through
the shelter home for abused women and children provided by the organization I
was working with, Domestic Violence Intervention Services. “We have a lot
of children pass through here that are so isolated from the world that they
refuse to even talk about their past experiences. Since counseling is such an
integral part of this program, it is essential to get the children to open up
to their therapists and to their mothers. It is the only way they can begin the
healing process of the horrors they have experienced.” I looked around at
the easels, finger paints, crayons, drawings all over the walls, and various
other art supplies. This room certainly seemed different from the rest of the
dismal shelter. There was a colorful playfulness to it, and I could imagine
children coming here to get away from the dark memories of their past abuse. My
supervisor continued, “Children who won’t express themselves any
other way find a medium with which to do so in their drawings, paintings,
play-dough sculptures, you name it. Not only does this help the kids to open
up, but it gives the therapists a way to really understand what is going on,
without the children saying anything.” This is certainly interesting, I
thought. However, being a musician myself, I couldn’t help but wonder
what other forms of therapy, say those using music, would be as effective, if
not more, in helping people to begin the journey to becoming mentally healthy.
Thus began my interest in Music Therapy.
Music
therapy is an area of psychology that has long been neglected and given little
respect within academic circles. This should not be surprising considering that
the image those two words drum up is one of a group of people sitting in a
circle together in a darkened room filled with aromatherapy candles, holding
hands and humming along to Enya’s greatest hits. It is a misconception
that does not necessarily demand much scholarly seriousness. Fortunately, the lackadaisical attitude
surrounding this topic has been steadily improving over the last few years to
promote heightened discussion, an increase in literature, and a theoretical and
practical expansion of techniques that make music therapy a highly progressive
and widely applicable area of psychological research.
Many
of us have, at one time or another, been witness to the effect that music has
on our personal experiences. It serves as an instant link to memories, a mood
regulator and/or enhancer, and a mental, sometimes physical, comfort. When we
are anxious, we instinctively pop in a classical CD or some other equivalent.
If our mood is sorrowful or reserved, we tend to listen to slower and sadder
sounding songs. Likewise, when we are happy, our music choices tend to reflect
that. So, we already use music to change or to reinforce our mood. Music
therapy takes this natural tendency a leap further by utilizing music as a
therapeutic tool that not only decreases anxiety and amplifies mood, but also
enhances critical thinking abilities and motor skills, affects cognitive and
behavioral attitudes, and promotes physical healing.
Music
therapy is defined as “the prescribed use of music by a qualified person
to effect positive changes in the psychological, physical, cognitive, or social
functioning of individuals with health or educational problems” (AMTA,
1997). Music therapy as a discipline began after World War I and World War II.
Because of the thousands of veterans suffering from both physical and emotional
trauma from the wars, community musicians were sent in to Veteran hospitals
around the country to provide music for the ailing soldiers. This became a
regular practice after those patients who were exposed to these hospital
musicians showed a notable difference in their physical and emotional responses
to this treatment. Doctors and nurses began to request the hiring of musicians
to help their patients heal more quickly and with less discomfort (AMTA, 1997).
Soon, it was realized that the musicians needed more extensive training prior
to entering the hospital environment, and to this end, the first music therapy
degree program in the world was founded at Michigan State University in 1944
(AMTA, 1997). The discipline has developed and expanded to include a multitude
of degrees and programs available nationwide, as well as the founding of the
National Association for Music Therapy in 1950 and the American Association for
Music Therapy in 1971. These two groups merged in 1998 to form the American
Music Therapy Association (AMTA). AMTA’s mission is “To advance
public awareness of the benefits of music therapy and increase access to quality
music therapy services in a rapidly changing world” (Lindberg, 1998).
Music
therapists are specially trained individuals who work in psychiatric and
medical hospitals, nursing homes, correctional facilities, schools, drug and
alcohol programs, and day care facilities. These are just a few of the locales
that employ music therapists. They work with developmentally disabled people
such as autistic children and Alzheimer’s patients, behaviorally
disruptive adolescents, people experiencing high levels of anxiety or pain, and
even those with brain injuries. “Music Therapists are breaking down the
walls of silence and affliction of autism, Alzheimer’s and
Pakinson’s disease” (AMTA, 1997).
A
typical music therapy session…. well, there is no typical session. Music
therapists work with a wide variety of individuals in a number of different
settings. Since each patient has a specific set of needs and therapeutic goals,
sessions are designed to fit each individual. In the therapy session, music is
the primary therapeutic tool. It is used to establish a trusting relationship
between the patient and the therapist, to improve physical and mental
functioning through carefully organized and structured activities, and to
affect behavior and thought processes in a way that improves social functioning
(Lindberg, 1998). The different interventions are based on the client’s
strengths, weaknesses, and the goals for the therapy. Some therapeutic goals
may include “improving communication skills, decreasing inappropriate
behavior, improving academic and motor skills, increasing attention span,
strengthening social and leisure skills, pain management, and stress
reduction” (Lindberg, 1998). Different techniques used in any particular
session include music improvisation, music and imagery, performance, song
writing, active listening to music, discussion of lyrics, ongoing evaluations
of the patient’s response, and follow-up (Lindberg, 1998).
For
example, a music therapist working in a school setting may use music to
reinforce areas like communication and physical coordination skills for
children in special education programs. In a hospital setting, soothing music
may be used to decrease the stress and anxiety associated with both pre and
post surgery conditions, as well as helping doctors and hospital staff perform
more efficiently by decreasing distracting noise pollution. Even more
importantly, Dr. Oliver Sacks, a medical physician working with patients with
neurological disorders, has stated that “those who cannot talk or move are
often able to sing, and sometimes even dance, to music… music therapy can
help ease the trauma of grieving, lessen depression, and provide an outlet for
people who are otherwise withdrawn” (AMTA, 1997). Music can also be used to facilitate
emotional expression in children and adults suffering from mental health
problems. When used as a tool within a family therapy program, music techniques
help to resolve conflict and improve cooperation among family members.
“The members of patient/family support groups utilize lyric discussion,
songwriting, singing and instrumental improvisation to increase their trust and
cooperation with each other and with the facilitator” (Brunk &
Coleman, 1997). Music is used to reinforce learning and to focus attention on
more pleasurable distractions rather than those of pain, anxiety, etc. (Brunk
& Coleman, 1997). Additionally, mentally healthy people can use music as a
way to reduce stress through actively participating in making music, or merely
listening to it for relaxation purposes (AMTA, 1997).
All
of this sounds as if music is possibly being given entirely too much credit in
terms of its “healing power”. Perhaps it is not the music, but the
combination of therapeutic techniques that have a real effect. However, there
is a multitude of research that implies otherwise. One study looking at the
effect of different types of music on stress, both perceived and physiological
measures, found that music may have a significant effect on perceived stress as
it was measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Burns, Labbé,
Arke, Capeless, Cooksey, Steadman, & Gonzales, 2002). A study looking at
modifying behaviors in students with autism found that the use of music with
social stories (stories that are designed to target a specific a specific
behavioral goal) was effective in helping students reach the goals (Brownell,
2002). Still many other research studies and music therapy literature support
the theory that music as a therapeutic tool is instrumental in successful
therapy.
In
conclusion, music therapy has been proven to be an effective form of therapy in
a variety of areas for a multitude of ailments. However, there is still much
more theorizing, discussion, and research that needs to be done in this area,
and that fact makes it all the more interesting. Through technological advances
and constantly evolving musical styles as well as cross-cultural influences,
this is one form of therapy that will never cease to be innovative and topical.
Hopefully, researchers will continue to treat this topic as a serious area of
psychology and one that deserves to be molded into a more scientific pedagogy
through advancement and refinement of research and therapeutic techniques. I
believe there is much more to be discovered about music and its effect on
humanity.
References
Brownell,
M.D. (2002). Musically adapted social stories to modify behaviors in students
with
autism: Four case studies. Journal of Music Therapy, 39, 117-144.
Brunk,
B. & Coleman, K. (1997). Medical music therapy. Retrieved April 13, 2003, from
http://home.att.net/~preludetherapy/medicine.html.
Burns,
J.L., Labbé, E., Arke, B., Capeless, K., Cooksey, B., Steadman, A.,
& Gonzales,
C.
(2002). The effects of different types of music on perceived and physiological
measures
of stress. Journal of Music Therapy, 39,
101-116.
Lindberg,
K.A. (1998). Music therapy info link.
Retrieved April 13, 2003 from
http://members.aol.com/kathysl/def.html.
AMTA Website. (1997). American Music
Therapy Association. Retrieved April 13,
2003