Music therapy is form of medical treatment that utilizes music to provide care for patients suffering from certain medical conditions. These patients could include children or adolescents with learning disabilities, adults vulnerable to substance abuse, pregnant women, victims of accidents with serious brain injuries and people with physical disabilities. Even in the medical diagnosis and treatment of elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other aging related disorders, members of the medical fraternity found music therapy to be effective.
According to Cody Winters a lover of music, this therapy enhances the physical, emotional and mental state of patients in a number of ways. Medical practitioners along with music therapists use music therapy in a variety of ways, which include having people sing to the musical tune, meditate and relax while playing music in the background or make patient perform various exercises with music as a channel. When music combines with a patient’s thoughts, music therapy is a catalyst in improving his/her speech, memory and physical balance. Music therapy is also instrumental in providing emotional healing and aids patients suffering from mental illnesses to develop positivity and take their mind of the stress and pain. In fact, music influences the minds and bodies of people in diverse yet powerful ways.
Depression
Music has a powerful influence on an individual’s mood and is useful to treat people suffering from depression. Music therapists and members of the medical community emphasize that music eases depression in a variety of ways. Playing a musical instrument allows people who are vulnerable to depression express themselves emotionally when they feel uncomfortable talking about their condition. While others find sharing their musical experience with their therapist helps them to discuss their problems and feelings.
Autism
Music therapy had positive effects on young children suffering from autism because patients suffering from such a condition show a higher aptitude of pitch processing in comparison to their normal peers. The benefits of music therapy in the treatment of autism is in the area of socio-emotional awareness and communication where therapists found a greater degree of compliance, a reduction in anxiety, an increase in speech output and more interaction with peers among patients.
Stress
Listening to music can have a very relaxing effect of the body and mind of an individual especially classic music. This type of music influences the physiological functions of such a person in a number of positive ways as it decreases the pulse and heart rate, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones levels and helps him/her to concentrate better. Moreover, when people feel stressful, they are tendency not to listen to music.
Cancer
Doctors and other professionals in the medical community are using music therapy to encourage emotional expression, social interaction and alleviate symptoms in patients suffering from cancer especially children. In the diagnosis of this disease, both medical practitioners and therapists employ active or passive music techniques depending on the requirements and abilities of the patient.
Cody Winters says that apart from providing entertainment, music can be instrumental in the treatment of many human disorders.