Music:Music therapy
From Arcthon
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_therapy
Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a trained music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health. Music therapists primarily help clients improve their health across various domains (e.g., cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional and affective development, behavior and social skills, and quality of life) by using music experiences (e.g., singing, songwriting, listening to and discussing music, moving to music) to achieve treatment goals and objectives. It is considered both an art and a science, with a qualitative and quantitative research literature base incorporating areas such as clinical therapy, biomusicology, musical acoustics, music theory, psychoacoustics, embodied music cognition, aesthetics of music, and comparative musicology. Referrals to music therapy services may be made by other health care professionals such as physicians, psychologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. Clients can also choose to pursue music therapy services without a referral (i.e., self-referral).
Music therapists are found in nearly every area of the helping professions. Some commonly found practices include developmental work (communication, motor skills, etc.) with individuals with special needs, songwriting and listening in reminiscence/orientation work with the elderly, processing and relaxation work, and rhythmic entrainment for physical rehabilitation in stroke victims. Music therapy is also used in some medical hospitals, cancer centers, schools, alcohol and drug recovery programs, psychiatric hospitals, and correctional facilities.[1]
The Turco-Persian psychologist and music theorist al-Farabi (872–950), known as "Alpharabius" in Europe, dealt with music therapy in his treatise Meanings of the Intellect, where he discussed the therapeutic effects of music on the soul.[2] Robert Burton wrote in the 17th century in his classic work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, that music and dance were critical in treating mental illness, especially melancholia.[3][4][5]
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History of Music Therapy
Music has been used as a healing force for centuries.[6] Music therapy goes back to biblical times, when David played the harp to rid King Saul of a bad spirit. As early as 400 B.C., Hippocrates, Greek father of medicine, played music for his mental patients. Aristotle described music as a force that purified the emotions. In the thirteenth century, Arab hospitals contained music-rooms for the benefit of the patients.[7] In the United States, Native American medicine men often employed chants and dances as a method of healing patients.[8] Music therapy as we know it began in the aftermath of World Wars I and II. Musicians would travel to hospitals, particularly in the United Kingdom, and play music for soldiers suffering from war-related emotional and physical trauma.[9]
Forms
There are several concepts regarding the foundations of music therapy, including philosophies based on education, psychology, neuroscience, art/aesthetics, and music therapy itself. Approaches used in music therapy that have emerged from the field of education include Orff-Schulwerk (Orff), Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and Kodaly. Two models that developed directly out of music therapy are Nordoff-Robbins and the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music.[10] Music therapists may work with individuals who have behavioral-emotional disorders. To meet the needs of this population, music therapists have taken current psychological theories and used them as a basis for different types of music therapy. Different models include behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic therapy.[11]
One therapy model based on neuroscience, called "neurological music therapy" (NMT), is "based on a neuroscience model of music perception and production, and the influence of music on functional changes in non-musical brain and behavior functions."[12] In other words, NMT studies how the brain is without music, how the brain is with music, measures the differences, and uses these differences to cause changes in the brain through music that will eventually affect the client non-musically. As one researcher, Dr. Thaut, said: "The brain that engages in music is changed by engaging in music."[13] NMT trains motor responses (i.e. tapping foot or fingers, head movement, etc.) to better help clients develop motor skills that help "entrain the timing of muscle activation patterns".[14]
Adolescents with mood disorders
Music and mood disorders
According to the Mayo Health Clinic [3], out of every 100,000 adolescents, two to three thousand will have mood disorders, out of which 8-10 will commit suicide. Two prevalent mood disorders in the adolescent population are clinical depression and bipolar disorder.
On average American adolescents listens to approximately 4.5 hours of music per day and are responsible for 70% of pop music sales. Now with the invention of new technologies, such as the iPod and digital downloads, access to music has become as easy. As children make the transition into adolescence they become less likely to sit and watch TV, an activity associated with family, and spend more of their leisure time listening to music, an activity associated with friends.[20]
Adolescents have identified many benefits of listening to music, including emotional, social, and daily life benefits, along with the formation of one’s own **identity**. Music can provide a sense of independence and individuality, which in turn contributes to one’s own self discovery and sense of identity. Music also offers adolescents with relatable messages that allow him/her to take comfort in knowing that others feel the same way they do. It can also serve as a creative outlet to release or control emotions and find ways of coping with difficult situations. Music can improve one's mood by reducing stress and lowering anxiety levels, which can help counteract or prevent depression.[21] Music education programs provide adolescents with a safe place to express themselves and learn life skills such as self-discipline, diligence, and patience. These school programs also promote confidence and self esteem. Ethnomusicologist Alan Merriam (1964) once stated that music is a “universal behavior;” it is something that everyone can identify with. Among adolescents, music is a **unifying** force, bringing people of different backgrounds, age groups, and social groups together.
Treatment techniques
There are many different music therapy techniques used with adolescents. The music therapy model is based on various theoretical backgrounds such as psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanistic approaches. Techniques can be classified as active vs. receptive and improvisational vs. structured.[25] The most common techniques in use with adolescents are musical improvisation, the use of precomposed songs or music, receptive listening to music, verbal discussion about the music, and the use of creative media outlets incorporated into the music therapy. Research also showed that improvisation and the use of other media were the two techniques most often used by the music therapists. The overall research showed that adolescents in music therapy “change more when discipline-specific music therapy techniques, such as improvisation and verbal reflection of the music, are used.” The results of this study showed that music therapists should put careful thought and deliberation into their choice of technique with each individual client. In the end, those choices can effect the positive or negative outcomes of music therapy treatment.
To those unfamiliar with music therapy the idea may seem a little strange, but music therapy has been found to be as effective as traditional forms of therapy. In a meta-analysis of the effects of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology, Gold, Voracek, and Wigram (2004) looked at 10 previous studies conducted between 1970 and 1998 to examine the overall efficacy of music therapy on children and adolescents with psychopathology, which can be broken down into three distinct categories: behavioral disorders, emotional disorders, and developmental disorders. The results of the meta-analysis found that “music therapy with these clients has a highly significant, medium to large effect on clinically relevant outcomes.” More specifically, music therapy was most effective on subjects with mixed diagnoses. Another important result was that “the effects of music therapy are more enduring when more sessions are provided.” [25]
Music therapists work with these adolescents on increasing emotional and cognitive stability, identifying contributing factors of current distress, and initiating changes to alleviate that distress. Music therapy may also focus on improving quality of life and building self-esteem, a sense self-worth, and confidence. Improvements in these areas can be measured by a number of tests, including qualitative questionnaires like Beck’s Depression Inventory, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Relationship Change Scale.[26] Effects of music therapy can also be observed in the patient’s demeanor, body language, and changes in awareness of mood.
Group meetings and one-one sessions are two main methods for music therapy. Group music therapy can include group discussions concerning moods and emotions in/to music, songwriting, and musical improvisation. Groups emphasizing mood recognition and awareness, group cohesion, and improvement in self-esteem can be effective in working with adolescents.[27][28] Group therapy, however, is not always the best choice for the client. Ongoing one-on-one music therapy has also been shown to be effective. One-on-one music therapy provides a non-invasive, non-judgmental environment, encouraging clients to show capacities that may be hidden in group situations.
Though more research needs to be done of the effect of music therapy on adolescents with mood disorders, most research has been finding positive effects.
