Music therapy is a clinical health profession that uses music interventions within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs. Music therapists assess clients' strengths and needs to design music sessions that utilize techniques like improvisation, songwriting, and music performance. Research shows music therapy can aid rehabilitation, stress management, pain relief, and self-expression. It has helped those with mental health issues, disabilities, Alzheimer's, and more. Studies find music can alter brainwaves and physiology to induce relaxation and health benefits.

1. BY
APARNA K S

2.  Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-
based use of music interventions to
accomplish individualized goals within a
therapeutic relationship by a credentialed
professional who has completed an approved
music therapy program.

3.  Music Therapy is an established health
profession in which music is used within a
therapeutic relationship to address physical,
emotional, cognitive, and social needs of
individuals. After assessing the strengths and
needs of each client, the qualified music
therapist provides the indicated treatment
including creating, singing, moving to, and/or
listening to music. Through musical
involvement in the therapeutic context, clients'
abilities are strengthened and transferred to
other areas of their lives.

4. What do Music Therapists do?
 Assess strengths and weaknesses in the following
areas: affective, emotional and behavioral
responses, physical health, social functioning,
communication abilities, and cognitive skills
 Design music sessions for individuals and groups
based on client needs using patient/client
preferred music and interventions like: music
improvisation, receptive music listening, song
writing, lyric discussion, music and imagery, music
performance, and learning through music
 Participate in interdisciplinary treatment planning,
ongoing evaluation, and follow up and discharge
planning.

5. What Objectives can Music
Therapy Address?
 Promote wellness
 Manage stress
 Alleviate pain
 Express feelings
 Enhance memory
 Improve communication
 Promote physical rehabilitation
 Enhance/improve socialization
 Teach/enhance educational objectives

6. What Populations can Benefit from
Music Therapy?
 Children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with
mental health needs
 Individuals with developmental and learning
disabilities
 Individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other
aging related conditions
 Individuals with substance abuse problems
 Individuals with brain injuries and physical
disabilities
 Individuals with acute and chronic pain, including
mothers in labor.
 Premature infants
 Individuals who are terminally ill

7.  Research in music therapy supports its
effectiveness in many areas such as: overall
physical rehabilitation and facilitating
movement, increasing people's motivation to
become engaged in their treatment, providing
emotional support for clients and their families,
and providing an outlet for expression of
feelings.

8.  Research has shown that music with a strong
beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in
sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing
sharper concentration and more alert thinking,
and a slower tempo promoting a
calm, meditative state. Also, research has
found that the change in brainwave activity
levels that music can bring can also enable the
brain to shift speeds more easily on its own as
needed, which means that music can bring
lasting benefits to your state of mind, even
after you’ve stopped listening.

9.  With alterations in brainwaves comes changes
in other bodily functions. Those governed by
the autonomic nervous system, such as
breathing and heart rate can also be altered by
the changes music can bring. This can mean
slower breathing,slower heart rate, and an
activation of the relaxation response, among
other things. This is why music and music
therapy can help counteract or prevent the
damaging effects ofchronic stress, greatly
promoting not only relaxation, but health.

10.  Music has also been found to bring many other
benefits, such aslowering blood
pressure (which can also reduce the risk of
stroke and other health problems over time),
boost immunity, ease muscle tension, and
more. With so many benefits and such
profound physical effects, it’s no surprise that
so many are seeing music as an important tool
to help the body in staying (or becoming)
healthy.

11. Research studies…
 Music therapy for people with schizophrenia and
schizophrenia-like disorders by Mössler K, Chen
X, Heldal TO, Gold C. The aim of the therapy is to help
people with serious mental disorders to develop
relationships and to address issues they may not be
able to using words alone. They concluded that Music
therapy as an addition to standard care helps people
with schizophrenia to improve their global state, mental
state (including negative symptoms) and social
functioning if a sufficient number of music therapy
sessions are provided by qualified music therapists.

12.  Music in the Treatment of Affective Disorders it’s a Therapeutic
Research by Stefan Koelsch
He first briefly review functional neuroimaging experiments on music
and emotion, showing that music-evoked emotions can change
activity in virtually all core areas of emotional processing. Then they
enumerate social functions that are automatically and effortlessly
engaged when humans make music. Engagement in these social
functions fulfils basic human needs, is part of what makes us
human, and is an important source for pleasure and happiness.
Finally, he present a new method for music therapy, including an
exploratory empirical study on effects of music making. Results
show that the music making increased the mood of individuals
compared to a control group. This music therapy method is
promising in encouraging further development for the treatment of
affective disorders,