Alicia Lyn Vorse

Alicia Lyn Vorse, Coun. 511 Technology for School Guidance, Spring 2008, Research Report

Alicia Lyn Vorse

COUN 511

Spring 2008

February 5, 2008

Music Therapy

February 5, 2008, Page 1 of 16

Alicia Lyn Vorse, Coun. 511 Technology for School Guidance, Spring 2008, Research Report

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

Conclusion

Detailed Findings: Top 5 sights linked to music therapy

The American Music Therapy Association

Jesse’s Foundation for Music and Dance Therapy

Using music in therapy

Specific examples of popular music which can be used in therapy

National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations

Lawnwood regional medical center

Introduction

I found, while researching music therapy (MT), an old phenomenon that has newly been added to the college curriculum and is continuously shocking researchers. From helping a child express his feelings to aiding in lessening pain in cancer patients, music therapy is being used in a variety of settings with a variety of ages to treat a vast majority of disorders. Because of its very complex nature, MT had been taken over by the American Music Therapy Association which has set a new standard for practitioners and colleges who teach this program. Music therapists now require a BA degree or higher and are required to pass a certification exam in order to practice clinical music therapy on patients. Recreational music therapy does not require a degree or certification and is used constantly in all types of settings including: pre-school (bringing children together musically to promote social skills and cooperation), high schools (teaching children patience, practice in order to play an instrument of choice), general hospitals (to help patients lessen stress, gain a positive outlook and relieve physical and emotional pain), old age homes (helping patients in distress come together as a whole and sing, dance or listen to music). There is also research that suggests music can help aid in evoking memories or good feelings in persons suffering with Alzheimer’s by playing meaningful songs from his/her past.

The idea of music as a healing influence which could affect health and behavior is as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato. The 20th century discipline began after World War I and World War II when community musicians of all types, both amateur and professional, went to Veterans hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from the wars. The patients' notable physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals, which led to the development of a college curriculum. The first music therapy degree program in the world, founded at Michigan State University in 1944. During a Music Therapy session a child (or adult) will be encouraged to play an instrument and/or sing with the therapist. They will improvise their own music together, and the therapist will respond to the child’s music. She might imitate a phrase or a rhythmic pattern, she might take turns to play or sing, and she might encourage the child to compose his own words to a song, telling of his life experiences. Music Therapists work towards giving the child a voice and a language with which to express themselves in a shared communication. They work towards bringing about growth and change for the child, and helping him to realize all of his potential, both personally and socially.

Music therapy is constantly changing as new research emerges and some states even require MT’s to possess a masters degree. The future of MT is unclear but it seems only likely to grow larger and be used by more social workers, healthcare workers and anyone in the position of helping others with physical or emotional pain. It is even said to help children with Autism learn ways to express his/her feelings since not verbally or socially able. If you look around you will notice that music is everyway and is usually promoting a positive vibe.

Conclusion

I found that music therapy is very valuable in the therapeutic world, not only can it help a non-verbal student bring out his/her thoughts and feelings in a unique and non-intrusive manner, it can also help lessen the pain of a ill person or evoke memories in a patient with Alzheimer’s. The American Cancer Society put out research that claims music therapy helps lessen the suffering of patients in chemotherapy, they claim music helps relieve stress and pain while lowering blood pressure, nausea, heart rate, and breathing rate. Music therapy is also used to reduce rapid heartbeat, depression, and sleeplessness. There are no claims music therapy can cure cancer or other diseases, but medical experts do believe it can reduce some symptoms, aid healing, improve physical movement, and enrich a patient's quality of life. I did find that music therapy is very complex, and involves knowledge and skill in a variety of areas such as showing empathy, patience, creativity, imagination, openness to new ideas, understanding of oneself and a general love and belief in music. Music therapists are also required to excel in a background of coursework in music therapy, psychology, music, biological, social and behavioral sciences, disabilities and general studies. Personal Qualifications of a Music Therapist include a genuine interest in people and a desire to help others empower themselves. The essence of music therapy practice involves establishing caring and professional relationships with people of all ages and abilities.

Detailed Findings: Top 5 sights linked to music therapy

The American Music Therapy Association

Music Therapy is an established healthcare profession that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages. Music therapy improves the quality of life for persons who are well and meets the needs of children and adults with disabilities or illnesses.

The American Music Therapy Association was founded in 1998 as a union of the National Association for Music Therapy and the American Association for Music therapy. This is the largest professional association which represents over 5,000 music therapists, corporate members and related associations worldwide. Founded in 1998, its mission is the progressive development of the therapeutic use of music in rehabilitation, special education, and community settings. AMTA sets the education and clinical training standards for music therapists. Predecessors to the American Music Therapy Association included the National Association for Music Therapy founded in 1950 and the American Association for Music Therapy founded in 1971.

The American Music Therapy Association produces two scholarly journals where research in music therapy is published and shared. Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in a wide variety of healthcare and educational settings including psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitative facilities, medical hospitals, outpatient clinics, day care treatment centers, agencies serving developmentally disabled persons, community mental health centers, drug and alcohol programs, senior centers, nursing homes, hospice programs, correctional facilities, halfway houses, schools, and private practice.

The Mission of the AMTA is to advance public awareness of the benefits of music therapy and increase access to quality music therapy services in a rapidly changing world. They build public awareness of the profession through its website, media articles, research dissemination, and therapist referrals.

Structure of the AMTA:

I found that this site provides all of the necessary information one needs to learn about the history of music therapy, how it came to be a profession today and ways in which one can be linked to resources about where to find an MT or become an MT.

Jesse’s Foundation for Music and Dance Therapy

Jesse’s Foundation for Music and Dance Therapy is a registered charity that works to make it affordable and convenient for children with identified needs (and their siblings) to access the proven benefits of music and dance therapy. Jesse’s family launched Jesse's Foundation for Music and Dance Therapy, a registered charitable organization, in Jesse’s name as:

• a way to enrich the lives of others by making music and dance therapy more readily available to help other sick children and their siblings.
• a meaningful way to mark the first anniversary of his diagnosis and on-going journey with retinoblastoma a rare form of eye cancer

The Foundation's inspiration and namesake is six year old Jesse Farquharson. In April 2001, after months of painful and traumatic chemotherapy, Jesse underwent a nationally profiled historic stem cell transplant. During his recovery music therapy was often the only comfort that stopped his crying. Today Jesse, who is visually impaired, remains in remission. However, his hospital visits for procedures continue. Thankfully, his music therapy sessions (funded by his own family, not this Foundation):

• help him manage the stress of treatments (past and ongoing)
• help develop and manage his remaining senses
• bring him great joy

Music therapy can benefit various special needs including:

• autism
• developmental disabilities
• emotional disturbances and/or victims of emotional, physical or sexual abuse
• learning disabilities
• medical needs
• neurological impairments (including speech)
• palliative care
• PDD (pervasive developmental disorders)
• physical disabilities
• speech development

I found that this site provides hope for those in need of music therapy and provides others a chance to become part of such a wonderful charity. It also offers opportunities to learn more about music therapy and hear success stories.

Using music in therapy

Featured on this site is Freudian Slip, Matt's therapeutic rock band which features original music which takes a direct look at human emotion. The songs focus on topics such as depression, abuse, addiction, and so forth. These songs have been composed by Matt throughout his years as a therapist and represent struggles in his own life as well as those of his clients. Includes songs written by children in therapy.

Matthew J. Bush, MSW, LSW is an experienced clinical and state licensed therapist who has successfully applied his techniques to countless children and adolescents in his work. He has worked and performed for children in public and private schools, residential treatment facilities, and the community. Matt has also spoken at statewide conferences, educating colleagues on the power of music as a coping skill.

Trick to show children that nobody can read their minds and that is why it important to be able to tell others how you feel.

This trick will be used as an analogy for how a therapist (or anyone for that matter) cannot actually read people's minds. You will show your client this trick, and apparently "read" his or her mind. After you have impressed them with your trick, this will be the perfect segway to discuss how therapists cannot actually read their client's minds, it was just a trick. This is a helpful way to talk about the importance of letting others know how you feel, because if we don't tell someone, how can they know!

Link to this trick

Application: After performing this trick, we talk about how it appeared that I "read" his or her mind. We talk about how I didn't really read their mind, it was just a magic trick. This leads into a discussion of how I as their therapist cannot read their mind as well. We talk about how when we feel sad inside, we need to tell others how we feel, or else they won't know that something is bothering us! We also talk about how this applies to moms and dads, caretakers, teachers, etc.

This site provides some amazing examples of how to be creative while using music therapy and great links to music and games to best use with clients of a particular disorder or issue to help them talk about their feelings and understand the meaning of the therapeutic relationship.

National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations

The National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations was founded in 1979. It is an alliance of professional associations dedicated to the advancement of the arts as therapeutic modalities. NCCATA represents over 15,000 individual members of six creative arts therapies associations nationwide.

The creative arts therapies include art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, poetry therapy, and psychodrama. These therapies use arts modalities and creative processes during intentional intervention in therapeutic, rehabilitative, community, or educational settings to foster health, communication, and expression; promote the integration of physical, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning; enhance self-awareness; and facilitate change. Each member association has established professional training standards including an approval and monitoring process, a code of ethics and standards of clinical practice, and a credentialing process. Annual conferences, journals, and newsletters for each association foster professional development, as well as educate the public and allied professionals about each discipline. Although unique and distinct from one another, the creative arts therapies share related processes and goals. Participation in all the creative arts therapies provides people with special needs ways to express themselves that may not be possible through more traditional therapies. For over 50 years, art, dance/movement, drama, music, poetry therapists, and psycho dramatists have provided meaningful therapeutic opportunities for people of all ages in a wide variety of treatment settings and schools.

Creative Arts Therapy Week 2008

Saturday, March 9 thru Saturday, March 15

Creative Arts Therapy Week (March 9-15, 2008) is an opportunity to sponsor special workshops, exhibitions, career days, etc., for the public and other professionals in your communities. Consider expanding coalition building with other creative arts therapies, healthcare and arts organizations, being visible with the media, promoting your field and creating awareness about your work during CATs week. This is an excellent website and organization for all of those involved or interested in creative art therapies. It provides information on gatherings, memberships, links and how CATs are changing the face of therapeutic relationships. It is wonderful to see that so many are interested in bettering someone’s life in a fun, creative and unique way.

Lawnwood regional medical center

Music therapy benefits premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) through "multimodal stimulation", an intervention based on infant development. This kind of music therapy involves lullaby singing with or without guitar accompaniment, infant massage, rocking, and encouragement of eye contact. The goal is to increase premature infants' tolerance to different kinds of stimulation without becoming over-stimulated. Research shows that multimodal stimulation can result in decreased stress behaviors, increased daily weight gain, and shorter hospital stays. Babies who receive multimodal stimulation can go home up to 11 days sooner than babies who don't receive it! Parents and caregivers can be trained to do multimodal stimulation with their infant at home to further the baby's development and enhance parent-child bonding

To a child, the hospital is a very scary place. Pediatric patients experience many of the same situations as adult patients, but children often don't have the reasoning ability to make sense of it all. They are sometimes left alone in an unfamiliar environment where most of their human interaction is spent during a medical procedure that may hurt or be uncomfortable. Parents are not always able to be with their hospitalized children, and when they are, anxiety and worry inevitably set in. Music therapy can be very effective to alleviate some of these innate concerns in children and parents. Among several other benefits, music therapy allows pediatric patients to make decisions, increasing autonomy and sense of control over uncontrollable circumstances. Music therapy gives sick kids an opportunity to socialize with hospital staff in a positive way, and often interact with other kids in similar situations. Activities are designed to elicit positive responses and communication through music and musical play. In several hospitals, music therapists have been successful in eliminating the need for sedation during noninvasive procedures like echocardiograms and CT scans, and reducing the trauma of other medical procedures for pediatric patients.

Adult patients can receive music therapy services for a variety of reasons. Clinical staff request music therapy for patients experiencing pain, anxiety, agitation, depression, difficulty communicating, confusion, minimal stimulation, isolation, extended hospitalization, spiritual need, and end of life.

This is a great site which shows how a hospital is using music therapy for a variety of ages to treat a variety of illnesses, stress and mental conditions due to physical illness. This site really shows the true meaning of music being used for healing.

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Research Excerpts File

February 5, 2008, Page 1 of 16