Music Therapy

Music Therapy Lecture by

Dr. Shakila Azim

Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
M.D.D.M. College,
Muzaffarpur
B.R.A. Bihar university

What adjectives would you use to describe
the face in the photographs below …

- Calm
- Serene
- Relaxed
- De-stressed
.. and many more
such related
adjectives

The Science of Music .. “Music Therapy”

Listening Music Therapy Playing a
to Music Musical
Music to promote Instrument
healing and improve
overall Emotional Well-
being of an individual

Singing Guided
along imagery
with with
Music music

The Science of Music .. “Music Therapy”

Music stimulates the The Effect

production of - Improve Mood
- Boost the immune system
opiates and - Reduce eating disorders
- Decrease risk of cardiac
endorphins These are the “feel attack
good” hormones

and create a
“Relaxation
Response”

These hormones

lead to improved

blood flow and

blood pressure

Endorphins are protein molecules produced by the nervous
system that work with sedative receptors in the brain

The History of “Music Therapy”

“Music and Dance are “Fight insomnia with gentle
critical in treating rocking or the music of running
mental illness”
– Robert Burton, The water. Indulge in cheerful
Anatomy of Melancholy conversations and amusements.

Listen to Music.”

A. Cornelius Celsus

The Turco-Persian psychologist and music
theorist al-Farabi (872–950), dealt with music
therapy in his treatise , Meanings of the Intellect, in
which he discussed the therapeutic effects of music

on the soul

The History of “Music Therapy”: Recorded
Literature

1789 1804: Edwin 1800s 1900s
Atlee, 1806:
Earliest known Samuel Blackwell’s Island, 1903: National Society
reference to Music Mathews New York of Musical Therapeutics
Therapy in recorded
literature in an First couple of First recorded music 1926: National
unsigned article in a Medical therapy intervention Association of Music in
Colombian Magazine dissertations in an institutional Hospitals
called “Music published on the setting and the first
Physically Considered” therapeutic systematic 1941: National
value of music experiment in music Foundation of Music
therapy (Corning’s Therapy
use of music to alter
dream states) 1944: First Music
Therapy course in
Michigan State
University

As of today there are innumerable publications on the
various psychological and health benefits of Music.

Music Therapy in INDIA

• The roots of musical therapy in India, can be traced back to ancient
Hindu mythology, Vedic texts, and local folk traditions.

• It is very possible that Music therapy has been used for hundreds
of years in the Indian culture.

• Suvarna Nalapat has studied music therapy in the Indian context.
• Her books Nadalayasindhu-Ragachikilsamrutam (2008), Music

Therapy in Management Education and Administration (2008)
and Ragachikitsa (2008) are accepted textbooks on music therapy
and Indian arts.
• The "Music Therapy Trust of India" is yet another venture in the
country. It was started by Margaret Lobo.

What is Music Therapy?

• Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-
based use of music interventions to
accomplish individualized goals within a
therapeutic relationship by acredentialed
professional who has completed an approved
music therapy program (AMTA, 2009)

What Music Therapists do?

• Assess, strengths and weaknesses in the following areas:
affective, emotional and behavioral responses, physical
health, social functioning, communication abilities, and
cognitive skills.

• Design music sessions for individuals and groups based on
client needs using patient/client preferred music and
interventions like: music improvisation, receptive music
listening, song writing, lyric discussion, music and imagery,
music performance, and learning through music

• Participate in interdisciplinary treatment planning, ongoing
evaluation, and follow up and discharge planning.

Misconceptions about Music Therapy

Treatment

• Musical ability is required to benefit from
music therapy

• Certain types of music are more therapeutic
than others.

– All forms of music can be useful in effecting
change in a client or patient's life.

– Individual's preferences, circumstances and need
for treatment, and the client or patient's goals
help to determine the types of music a music
therapist may use (AMTA, 1999).

Researches in favour of music therapy

• More recent research suggests that music can
increase a patient's motivation and positive
emotions.

• Current research also suggests that when
music therapy is used in conjunction with
traditional therapy it improves success rates
significantly.

What Objectives can Music Therapy

Address?

• Promote wellness
• Manage stress
• Alleviate pain
• Express feelings
• Enhance memory
• Improve communication
• Promote physical rehabilitation
• Enhance/improve socialization
• Teach/enhance educational objectives

Music Therapy for Children

Clinical Treatment
- Helps child with issues in communication, attention, motivation & behavioral problems
- The sessions can be one- on- one or in groups; depending upon the requirement
- The therapist plays some instrument with a variety of rhythms
- The child is also encouraged to play some instrument of his choice

Autism
-Helps children with autism by stabilizing moods, increase frustration tolerance, improve
self- expression along with much more
- Music engages the brain in both sub-cortical and neo-cortical levels, which means it is
not critical to ‘think’ while listening to music when hearing the notes and sounds.
- Music therapy, in the topic of autism’s sensory interpretation, provides repetitive stimuli
which aim to “teach” the brain other possible ways to respond that might be more useful
as they grow older.

Music Therapy for Adolescents

Science
- Almost 2- 3% of adult population suffers with mood disorders
- Two prevalent mood disorders are: clinical depression and bipolar disorder
- Music can provide a sense of independence and individuality, which in turn contributes
to an adolescent's self-discovery and sense of identity.
- Music also offers adolescents relatable messages that allow them to take comfort in
knowing that others feel the same way they do.

Clinical Treatment
- Many different music therapy techniques used with adolescents.
- The music therapy model is based on various theoretical backgrounds such as
psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanistic approaches.
-Techniques can be classified as active vs. receptive and improvisational vs. structured

Music Therapy: Health benefits

Immune System

- Music creates a positive emotional state (appreciation)
- Positive emotional state leads to an enhanced “parasympathetic activity”
- Enhanced parasympathetic activity reduces the cortisol/DHEA ratio
- This gives a boost to immunity

Heart Diseases

- A combination of Music therapy with traditional therapy yields significantly better
results in recovery of patients from stroke
- Music has proven useful in the recovery of motor skills in stroke patients

Music Therapy: Health benefits

Dementia (Alzheimer’s disease)

- Music leads to improved social behaviors, leading to improvements in interaction,
conversation, and other such skills
- A study reveals significantly higher improvements in social behavior of patients
suffering from Alzheimer’s when subjected to Music therapy
- The effect is however, not homogenous & shows variations in different studies

Depression

- Music therapy has significant outcomes for patients with depressive disorders
- A study found that listening to soft, sedative music for only 30 minutes a day for two
weeks led to significantly improved global depressive scores, and improved scores on
individual depressive sub-scales.
-The effects are cumulative over time–longer treatment led to increased improvement

Music Therapy

• Premature Infants

• Developmental
Disabilities

• Learning Disabilities

• Behavior Disorders

• Communication Disorders

• Sensory Impairment

• Physical and Health
Impairments

• Abused Children Music therapy promotes coping skills and

diminishes psychological symptoms to client

ability.

Neurological disorders :

• The use of music therapy in treating mental and
neurological disorders is on the rise. Music
therapy has showed effectiveness in treating
symptoms of many disorders, including
schizophrenia, amnesia, dementia and

• Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's disease, mood
disorders such as depression, aphasia and
similar speech disorders, and Tourette’s
syndrome, among others.

Neurologic Music Therapy

Basic Definitions

• NMT is defined as the therapeutic application of music
to cognitive, sensory, and motor dysfunctions due to
neurologic disease of the human nervous system.
NMT is based on a neuroscience model of music
perception and production and the influence of music on
functional changes in nonmusical brain and behavior
functions. (R-SMM)

Music Therapy Intervention I

Sustained music, live or recorded, is provided to individual infants :

Facilitate growth, development, and learning

Promote enhanced respiratory strength and reduction of stress
(Stanley, 2003, p. 76-77)

Music Therapy Intervention II
Music to reinforce non-nutritive and nutritive sucking endurance and effectiveness
(Stanley, 2003, p.79-89)

Music Therapy Intervention III
Music and multimodal stimulation to facilitate neurological growth and development
using a (prescribed) auditory, tactile, visual and vestibular stimulation sequence

(Stanley, 2003, p. 89-94)

Music Therapy Intervention IV

Live, slightly stimulating music (sung) to the swaddled infant to facilitate
alertness and response to people and the environment

(Stanley, 2003, p. 94)

Music Therapy Intervention V

Parent counseling to:

Facilitate parents’ comfort and relationship with their infant and his or
her condition
Promote parent trust of medical personnel and procedures

(Stanley, 2003, p. 95)

Medical Music Therapy in Pediatrics
Pain Reduction

Communication of Distress

Normalization of Environment

Therapy Enhancement

Family Counseling

Stimulation

(Stanley, 2003)

Neurologic Music Therapy

• Neurologic Music Therapy
A Research-Based System of Standardized Clinical
Techniques

For:

Sensorimotor Training
Speech/Language
Training
Cognitive Training

Neurologic Music Therapy
Cognition: Attention and Perception

• Techniques Mechanisms
Patterned
– Musical Sensory Orientation Information
Training (MSOT) Processing (Gestalt
Principles of
– Musical Neglect Training Groupings)
(MNT) Perceptual Sensory
Priming
– Auditory Perception Rhythmical Attention
Training (APT) Auditory
Information
– Musical Attention Control Processing
Training (MACT)

• Selective
• Sustained
• Divided
• Alternating



Thank You