Hello everyone and welcome to this week's blog post, where I will be discussing music therapy. In this article, I will first define what music therapy is, before exploring what it involves and how it works. Finally, I will then consider what the future of music therapy in light of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Music therapy is defined by the British Association for Music Therapy as "an established psychological clinical intervention, which [helps] people whose lives have been affected by injury, illness or disability through supporting their psychological, emotional, cognitive, physical, communicative and social needs"
For hundreds of years, music has been an intrinsic part of human culture and our identity. While the types of music we play have changed over this time period, we still use music for many of the same reasons. One of these reasons is to communicate emotion, and this is what music therapy harnesses.
It is important to note that music therapy is effective for a range of people, regardless of musical ability. Since music is so ingrained in our tradition and culture, emotion and feelings can still be covered and interpreted by people who don't have any theoretical knowledge of music.
For that reason, music therapy is often one of the most effective therapies for people who struggle to communicate verbally with other people. This is because music therapy allows them to create their own unique language to connect with others and communicate. Additionally, playing music in a group has also been shown the help people work together as a team and feel closer with one another.
Music therapy is delivered by music therapists, who work with other health professionals such as teachers and psychiatrists, to ensure that music therapy is used most effectively to support a patient. Music therapists are specialists in their field. They often have many years of formal music training and then obtain a postgraduate qualification in music therapy before registering with the Health and Care Professions Council.
One must remember that music therapy needs music therapists to perform the treatment in order for the therapy to be most effective. Music therapy is not 'one size fits all' but rather must be tailored to each specific patient and their needs.
One of the main uses of music therapy is in treating people who suffer from dementia. Music therapy generally has three useful applications for this. Firstly, it can be listened to by the patient and their family, bringing them a sense of enjoyment that they would not otherwise get. This is especially apparent in patients with mobility issues which may prevent them from attending live concerts - in these cases, music therapy becomes one of the only ways patients can listen to live music.
The second is that playing music can also benefit the carers and family members who support and care for the patient. This is because music therapy has been shown the reduce tension and anxiety and help bring carers and patients closer together.
The third application of music therapy in the treatment of dementia is that it has been shown to have healing qualities. As I explained above, music is incredibly powerful at causing emotions and forming memories, perhaps because of the fact that music has been essential to human culture for so long.
It is well documented that music is hardwired into the brain and that because of that, playing music often stimulates parts of the brain which can't be stimulated by other methods. In addition, playing music often rekindles forgotten memories of happiness from a patients youth. As such, music can be particularly effective in improving the mood of patients.
Music therapy can also be used as a neurological tool and help restore motor function in patients. For example, one study conducted in 2019 demonstrated how by getting patients to hit a drum in time to a beat, or by encouraging them to play the piano with the piano being positioned further away from them, their motor function could be increased. Additionally, music therapy also had the additional benefit of simultaneously improving the good of the patient, which underlines another reason why it should be used more widely.
The role that music therapy can play in the treatment of children is not to be underestimated. Indeed, many studies have shown that music therapy is extremely effective in helping children, both emotionally and physically. For example, music therapy is often used to help children who have difficulties in communicating verbally, for those who are anxious to help them calm down and for those who require neuro-rehabilitation treatment.
Over the next few years, music therapy provision is likely to be significantly affected by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This is due to the fact that large group sessions will have to comply with social distancing measures. Additionally, many music therapy patients also have other co-morbidities. For example, according to Cancer Research UK, music therapy is very important in the treatment of patients who suffer from cancer, as it provides them with a safe space to explore fear, anger and other emotional responses associated with living with cancer.
Unfortunately, the treatment of many cancer patients involves chemotherapy, which severely weakens the patients' immune systems. As such, these patients will likely have to self-isolate until a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is made available, thus making in-person music therapy sessions impossible. While music therapists may be able to offer some forms of treatment using video conferencing or other means, these will not provide the same kinds of benefits as group sessions, so music therapy will need to adapt to account for this.
In conclusion, music therapy is a very versatile tool and is effective in treating a range of conditions, including physical and cognitive impairments, mental health programs and learning disabilities. As such, music therapy should continue to receive sufficient funding from the NHS to ensure all patients who would benefit from this treatment can receive it. Nevertheless, in the future, music therapy will need to adapt its techniques to cope with the pandemic.
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