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Savannah Whisnant

ENG 112

Mrs. Carroll

Using music therapy as medicine

Music therapy is constantly used to aid in mental health even though it is not viewed by

medical professionals as medicine. Some doctors think that prescription medicine is the

only medicine that can help, despite music therapy helping a wider range of people than

prescription medicine alone.

Music therapy can be used by every generation, every background, for many issues

including psychological, physical, and health. Veterans of war use it to help them

overcome post-traumatic stress disorder and be able to function in society again.

People who suffer from medical problems have show a decrease in stress, pain, and

depression when using and after music therapy is administered. These individuals were

overall happier and it made their healing, or dying, process easier. In a study conducted

from Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, family members were there to witness the benefits of

music therapy for loved ones in hospice and also those undergoing serious medical

treatments. What the study was looking for was ​the effect on family member's stress

level, quality of life, mood and helpfulness of the music therapy session for the patient

and theirself​. The research showed that patients reported significant improvements in

pain, depression, distress, and mood scores. Family members of patients in palliative

medicine and hospice settings reported an immediate positive impact of music therapy
on the patient and on themselves,” (​Rehabilitation​). There are some of us that suffer

from being mentally handicap. Music therapy encourages stimulation of the brain to

accomplish motor skills like writing, walking, talking in complete sentences, fully

completing tasks that are put in front of them. Although music therapy is praised for the

bigger issues it handles, it is also used in very minute ways in many different settings.

An example of this is picking the right music to work out or study to. When you get into

the right mindset to accomplish what is put on front of you while using music therapy the

task becomes enjoyable. Music in this way acts almost as a reward. Music therapy is no

magic pill you take to see these amazing results. Music therapy is hard work. When a

music therapist meets a patient they assess the problem, face it head on with the

individual, and teach them how to live and cope with what is going on in their lives. So

why is music therapy not accepted by doctors?

The benefits of music therapy vary from individual to individual. I believe that this is the

reason is it not accepted by doctor's. There is no hard core fact that it could improve a

person's last days or months alive. If the individual hates music and would rather sit in

silence then music therapy will not be of any help to them. You can pick the right music

to put on when working out, but if you are not up for your workout then you are not

going to accomplish your goal. Some doctors see it as getting in the way and finding a

way to cover up mental problems of patients. They believe that it acts as a damper to

the problems that lie underneath by giving the individual a sense of false happiness. I

do not believe this is so.


Music stimulates the brain. It causes endorphins to be released to aid in happiness as

well as reducing pain. With runners this is called a runner’s high. It's caused by the

body's natural pain killers - endorphins - which are released when we're out of breath

and the body is under pressure. These endorphins block pain for a time and allow the

runner to reach their “second wind” and keep going. The same can be said for when

music is used and causes happiness and relaxation. Endorphins are released that put

your body at ease. This is why tasks are easier to accomplish when listening to music.

To say that music is a distraction might be right, but the benefits you get from it are

undenyable.

In hospitals, hospices, retirement homes, and adult daycares music therapy needs to be

implemented more. Too many hours are spent sitting, wishing there was something to

do. There is not enough stimulation of any kind in these environments. Many facilities

like these allow patients or residents to sit in their own waste, talk back to them very

rudely because they see them as being in the way, and many more horrible things. Why

is it so wrong to administer music therapy to these individuals to make them happy and

enjoy a part of their day when so much of it is negative?

For music therapy to be administered there needs to be complete trust in the

professional helping you. Every issue or goal you are trying to overcome needs to be

addressed and worked with. A plan is made for how these goals will be reached and a

timeline of what needs to be done when. Some individuals can jump right into where

they need to be based off of the goals they are reaching. For others there is more time,

work, and therapy - outside of music therapy - that needs to be completed before the
goal is achieved. A goal does not have to be a one time thing. The goal set is

determined by the individual. It might be for accomplishing something during the day, or

it would be something they need to do daily.

Because of its wide range of possibilities without consistent concrete evidence to back it

up it is not a widely practice field in medical facilities. I believe acceptance that medicine

cannot fix every problem that walks through the door will open the eyes of many people

curious about music therapy and its benefits. By allowing music therapy to be practiced

and monitored in a variety of setting we can gather more information on it and how it

works and can benefits those around us. The path has already been laid, all that we

have to do now is follow it and see where it leads.


Bibliography

“American Music Therapy Association.” ​Definition and Quotes about Music Therapy |

Definition and Quotes about Music Therapy | American Music Therapy Association

(AMTA)​, ​www.musictherapy.org/about/quotes/​.

“American Music Therapy Association.” ​History of Music Therapy | History of Music


Therapy |
American Music Therapy Association (AMTA),​
www.musictherapy.org/about/history/?_sm_byp=iVVJM2DQHF5HVNr5​.

Burns, Debra S., et al. "Cancer Patients' Interest and Preferences for Music
Therapy."​Journal of Music Therapy​, vol. 42, no. 3, 2005, pp. 185-99​, eLibrary;
ProQuest Central​,
http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/22355793
4?accountid=11866

.“GoodTherapy.org.” ​GoodTherapy.org - Find the Right Therapist​,


www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/music-therapy?_sm_byp=iVVJ
M2DQHF5HVNr5​.

K​oelsch, Stefan. "Brain Correlates of Music-Evoked Emotions."​ Nature


Reviews.Neuroscience​, vol. 15,
no. 3, 2014, pp. 170-80​, ProQuest Central,​
http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/16606697
12?accountid=11866​ , doi:​http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrn3666​.

Hilliard, Russelle E. "The use of Music Therapy in Meeting the Multidimensional Needs
of Hospice Patients and Families."​ Journal of Palliative Care,​ vol. 17,
no. 3, 2001, pp. 161-6​. ProQuest,​
https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2
14201548?accountid=10163​.
"Rehabilitation; Recent Findings from Cleveland Clinic Provides New Insights into
Rehabilitation (Perceptions of Family Members of Palliative Medicine and Hospice
Patients Who Experienced Music Therapy)."​ Health & Medicine Week​, May 26, 2017,
pp. 942​. ProQuest​,
https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1
899996451?accountid=10163​.

"Neurology; Studies from University of Minnesota have Provided New Information about
Autism (Effects of a Music-Based Short Story on Short- and Long-Term Reading
Comprehension of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cluster Randomized
Study)."​ Psychology & Psychiatry Journal,​ Jul 09, 2016,
pp. 279​. ProQuest,​
https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2
113646244?accountid=10163​.

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