If listening to a classical concerto makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, music therapy may unlock the secrets to life’s many mysteries for you. Similarly, if hearing an Abba song or even a cheesy old Marie Osmond recording makes you swoon with joy and delight and can bring you out of a funk, then music therapy may be just what you need.
Music therapy is thought to originate in veterans’ hospitals, helping those who came back ravaged from the war acclimate better to the often traumatic injuries they suffered.
Actually, music therapy is not as daft as it may seem. The idea is that music is used as a therapeutic vehicle to achieve goals that are not really related to music at all. The parallels are obvious: speech and singing, walking and movement, rhythm and motor skills. As music has been scientifically proven to enhance mood as well, it’s thought that music therapy can optimize people’s abilities to interact and communicate on many, many levels.
People who can benefit from music therapy are manifold. They can be both adults and children, either those who suffer from certain disabilities, or those who have chronic health problems. Advocates of this type of therapy say it works in a variety of ways, and can improve not only an individual’s emotional well being, but also help them physically, cognitively, socially and even on an aesthetic level.
Some people find it hard to communicate for a variety of different and varied reasons that are either developmental, social and/or physical, and feel that communication through or with the use of music is the best way to open up. Music is used purely as a vehicle; it’s thought that the communication between the patient and the therapist is the most crucial aspect.
According to the American Music Therapy Association website, music therapy can:
* promote wellness
* manage stress
* alleviate pain
* express feelings
* enhance memory
* improve communication
* promote physical rehabilitation
History of Music Therapy
