Sarah Canovaca '03

“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 from http://www.musictherapy.org/about.html.