User:Gracie.Allen/sandbox

Entry 1. Music therapy got one of its biggest breaks when the CBS series NCIS featured the program MusiCorps on its 300th episode. This program provides veterans with the opportunity to learn or relearn how to play instruments. Giving veterans an escape and self-confidence.

Entry 2. In Greek mythology there was a man named Orpheus. Orpheus was a legionary musician, poet, and profit in ancient Greek religion and myth. All stories about him were centered around his ability to enchant all living things including stone with his music.

Entry 3. Guitars for Vets, a non-profit organization founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently operates in 30 states and has over 200 volunteers. Guitars for Vets provides veterans with opportunity to learn to play guitar or relearn how to play guitar in group or one on one sessions.

Entry 4. Music therapy has been used for years as a calming tool, teaching tool, and a source of pain relief for diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Steve Matthew’s article titled “Dementia and The Power of Music Therapy”, mentions “…playing old songs trigger those parts of long-term memory still unaffected by the disease. However, the improvements in patients may also be a function of the relationships to caregivers who engage in the therapy as well.”

Entry 5. Music therapy provides veterans with a way to express themselves, escape from anxiety, and helps them cope with their PTSD. In Marty Steiner’s “Music and Science Meet…Music Therapy”, Steiner explains “Modern music therapy became a norm in the Veteran's Administration hospitals during and after both World Wars. In its most basic form the playing of recordings on the Victrola in WW I, hospitals had measurable positive effects on the wounded and shell-shocked patients. This began the use of a somewhat primitive music therapy in all American military hospitals.”

Entry 6. Developmental studies among other things have proven that music therapy is one of the leading therapies in relation to anxiety and focus problems. Autism is a developmental disorder that effects social, communication, cognitive, and behavioral functioning which is why music therapy is a perfect match for treating Autism symptoms. “Music therapy is the skillful use of music and musical elements by an accredited music therapist to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Music has nonverbal, creative, structural, and emotional qualities.”

Entry 7. Music therapy programs such as Guitars for Vets have experienced great outcomes with veterans in their program. Guitars for Vets, a non-profit organization founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently operates in 30 states and has over 200 volunteers. Guitars for Vets provides veterans with opportunity to learn to play guitar or relearn how to play guitar in group or one on one sessions. In Mellskog, “Music Therapy Is Used in Many Ways to Help Patients Heal” she states that “Some reduction in PTSD symptoms were observed following group sessions, especially increased sense of openness, togetherness, belonging, sharing, closeness, connectiveness and intimacy, as well as achieving a non-intimidating access to traumatic memories, facilitating an outlet for rage and regaining a sense of self-control.”