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The Medical Benefits of Music Therapy

Music therapy benefits not only these medical conditions, but others such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Alzheimer’s Disease, Attention Deficit Disorder, and more. Music therapy has also shown to be beneficial to rehabilitation patients, palliative care patients, and many special needs students.

If major hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States begin to make music therapy an available resource to patients and/or the public, patient satisfaction and wellness rates will likely increase. The health institutions that implement the use of music therapy for patients will not only reap the benefits of positive patient outcomes, but will see the effectiveness of music therapy’s low cost. Music therapy “cuts an average of $10,000 off the costs of a NICU stay” and “reduces cost per patient in hospice...by$2,984”, saving money that would otherwise be spent on expensive medical equipment and medications that have the same benefit for the patients (Harmony Music Therapy Admin.). As a whole, the use of music therapy as a first attempt at treatment for palliative care patients, mental health patients, and others will maximize cost efficiency for hospitals and healthcare institutions and will allow for the medical community to see how music can shape the well-being of people for the better.

Approaches used with adolescents

The article discusses how “music therapy used in child rehabilitation has had a substantial emphasis on development including; balance and position, locomotion, agility, mobility, range of motion, strength, laterality and directionality”, but lacks to discuss how music therapy can also improve  psychiatric disorders, medical problems, physical handicaps, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, communication disorders, interpersonal problems, and aging.

Music Therapy Programs

Music therapy programs primarily target active duty military members and their treatment facility in order to provide reconditioning among members convalescing in Army hospitals. Although, music therapy programs not only benefit the military but a wide range of clients including the U.S Air Force and Marines.

Individuals exposed to trauma benefit from their essential rehabilitative tools in order to follow the course of recovery from stress disorders. Music therapists are certified professionals who possess the abilities to determine appropriate interventions to support one recovering from a physically, emotionally, or mentally traumatic experience. In addition to their skills, they play an integral part throughout the treatment process of service members diagnosed with post-traumatic stress or brain injuries.In many cases, self-expression through songwriting or utilizing instruments help restore emotions that can be lost after suffering trauma. Music has a significant effect on troops traveling overseas or between bases because many soldiers view music to be an escape from war, a connection to their homeland and families, or as motivation. By working with a certified music therapist, marines undergo sessions re-instituting concepts of cognition, memory attention, and emotional processing. Although programs primarily focus on phases of military life, other service members such as the U.S Air Force are eligible for treatment as well. For instance, during a music therapy session, a man begins to play a song to a wounded Airmen. The Airmen says “ [music] allows me to talk about something that happened without talking about it”. Music allows the active duty airmen to open up about previous experiences while reducing his anxiety level.