Music
therapy is an established, ancillary healthcare profession
along the same spectrum as speech therapy, occupational
therapy, physical therapy, and other creative arts therapies,
using music as the foundation for therapeutic interaction.
Applied by a qualified practitioner, music therapy is
the systematic use of music to achieve individual therapeutic
goals for a wide
variety of clients and their families in numerous settings,
including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, mental health
agencies, nursing homes, hospices, schools, correctional
facilities, residential facilities, and prevention and
wellness programs. Music therapy addresses cognitive,
physical, emotional/psychological, communicative, social,
and spiritual needs of individuals to help them attain
and maintain maximum levels of functioning.
Music therapy offers tools for growth and positive change
to people of all backgrounds
and abilities. It is highly successful for children with
special needs and is often included as a related service
in the IEP to promote change and progress in cognitive,
communication, physical, daily life, and social skills.
In a hospital, music therapy can improve motor and neurological
functioning, sedate or relax patients, reduce pain, counteract
depression or apprehension, and promote overall rehabilitation.
In a psychiatric facility, music therapy can help patients
explore and express emotions, identify and resolve conflicts,
improve self-esteem, practice problem solving, decision
making and coping skills, develop interpersonal communication
skills, increase motivation, and decrease inappropriate
behaviors. Music therapy can help geriatric clients improve
physical functioning, social skills, and cognitive functioning
in such areas as memory, comprehension and reality awareness.
Even typically-functioning individuals can benefit from
music therapy through stress management, self-expression
and self-actualization.
As both an art and a science, music therapy utilizes music
as a prescribed therapeutic stimulus to achieve non-musical
goals. Treatment involves strategic use of music, focused
for healing, learning, coping, and change.
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