Music Therapy – A Brief Music Therapy Overview…

What Is Music Therapy?

Music therapy is a study of alternative medicine where the therapist uses music to induce their clients to improve, or maintain, health and wellness in all areas in life, including mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, social.

By having the client in each music therapy session learn such as songwriting, intelligent discussion about the music playing and singing, clients tend to improve their social, behavioral, and motor skills.

They also improve their quality of life by, at the same time, improving their functioning and affective development skills as well.

The History Of Music Therapy

The idea of using music for therapeutic reasons has been around since ancient times.  One such case comes from the Hebrew Bible, where the author writes about the shepherd boy David playing his harp to calm the tortured King Saul.

Evidence for music therapy in ancient history has also been shown in other texts written by the Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians, Indians, and Native Americans.

The American roots for the use of music for therapeutic uses has only been around since the later part of the 18th century during World War I and World War II.  At that time, VA (Veterans Administration) Hospitals started using it for soldiers with severe injuries.

The therapists would have the soldiers participate in various music activities, both actively and passively.  As stated above, this was said to have a tremendous effect on the veterans’ physical, cognitive, and psychological states.

music therapy

Music Therapy

Who Is Music Therapy Used For?

There has been numerous discoveries in the subject of music therapy. Here are just three kinds of clients / patients that have been known to benefit from therapy sessions.

Music Therapy – Autistic Children

Autistic children have been known to benefit from music therapy, where they benefit in their communication towards others.

Music Therapy – Cancer Patients

Studies in the matter of using music for therapeutic reasons, as it pertains to caner, has proved that it decreases the patients anxiety who go through sessions of radiation therapy.  It has also been used for those going through chemotherapy. by reducing vomiting and nausea.

Music Therapy – Those Fighting Stress and Depression

A review stated in 2008 that four out of five other studies said that patients receiving therapeutic music sessions were to see less and less symptoms of depressions than those who weren’t. Such things as improv singing and listening to music while painting was said to have the greatest benefit.

Numerous women who are going through pregnancy are said to have decreased bouts of stress.  According to another 2008 study, in which over 230 pregnant women participated in the research, just under 120 of them saw a vast reduction in their stress levels.

Conclusion

There are many more examples of people benefiting from therapeutic music sessions.  These are just a few of them.

For more information, clinics, or if you’re looking for a school that teaches music therapy, visit one of the sites we have chosen to advertise on this page.

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