Who Benefits from Music Therapy?

The short answer to that question, like most therapies, is that anyone and everyone could benefit from music therapy. But today I’d like to share with you the people I typically work with and the documented benefits that can be expected.

Although I work with many different ages and populations as a music therapist, my work primarily focuses on oncology patients, and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities and brain injury. I also work with people experiencing general stress.

I develop clear goals and objectives for each individual client that work in conjunction with their overall plan of care using both interactive and receptive music therapy techniques.

Brain Injury

As a certified therapist in Neurologic Music Therapy, I work with people with brain injuries resulting from traumatic brain injury, stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions.

Engaging in music has been shown to facilitate neuroplasticity. Research shows that music activates cognitive, motor and speech centers in the brain through accessing shared neural systems (Brain Injury Association of America).  Because of this, I use music therapy to target goals like improved gait and speech clarity in patients with Parkinson’s, improved motor functioning is patients with cerebral palsy or TBI, and as a tool to access language and communication in patients with Alzheimer’s or who have had a stroke. Music therapy can also reduce their agitation, stress and anxiety.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

I’ve worked with this population for many years in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, residential facilities and individual’s homes. People with intellectual disabilities and development disabilities, like Down Syndrome and autism spectrum disorders, sometimes have similar goals and outcomes to patients with brain injury.

 Music therapy can address specific outcomes like increased attention, improved behavior, decreased self-stimulation, improved cognitive functioning, decreased agitation, increased social skills and increased sensory-motor skills.

Cancer Patients

This is one of my favorite populations to work with. Music therapy can be an integral part of a supportive cancer care plan to accompany medical treatment. I focus on both physiological and psychological needs that arise from the disease and medical treatment side-effects. Goals target relieving anxiety, mood disturbances and pain, and increasing relaxation and quality of life.

“A cancer diagnosis is one of the most feared and serious life events that causes stress in individuals and families. Cancer disrupts social, physical and emotional well-being and results in a range of emotions, including anger, fear, sadness, guilt, embarrassment and shame … Music therapy in oncology uses music in preventive, curative and palliative cancer care and is very helpful to a wide variety of patients who suffer from a large range of neoplasms. The effectiveness of music therapy for oncology patients has been documented in numerous descriptive and experimental studies.”

– Reports of Practical Oncology and Radiology. Read the full article here.

Music Therapy for General Stress

Using techniques similar to those I use with my other patients; I work with the general population for stress reduction.

Read more about my Individual Therapy and sign up for a consultation here.

I also teach professionals like other clinicians and educators how to integrate music into their practice or business, lead staff wellness trainings, and more.

I’m excited to share later this month a project I’ve been working on to help those who have lost their jobs due to COVID process through their grief and stress. And in future posts I’ll be sharing more about what a typical music therapy session looks like.

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