“To me, music therapy is performing without self-consciousness. It’s more about empathising than it is about entertainment. You can start to solve an issue if you can utilize music to block out the suffering and get an understanding of how another person thinks.”
Jodi Lynn
Music therapy is the clinical application of music to achieve specific objectives including stress reduction, mood enhancement, and self-expression. It is a well-known, evidence-based therapy in the medical field. Experiences with music therapy may involve listening, singing, playing an instrument, or writing music. It is not necessary to have musical aptitudes or abilities to participate.
The inherent mood-lifting effects of music are used in music therapy as a therapeutic strategy to assist people to improve their mental health and general well-being. It’s a focused intervention that could include:
- composing music
- making music
- Singing
- Dancing
- Taking in music
- talking about music
This type of therapy may be beneficial for those who struggle with depression and anxiety, as well as for those who have physical health issues.
You don’t need to have any musical training to participate in music therapy or benefit from it.
Who can benefit from music therapy?
A girl was diagnosed with a unique rare genetic disorder. She has not yet attained the cognitive and developmental milestones typical of a young lady with a healthy nervous system. She struggles with speech, walking, and other physical activities as well as with cognitive thinking. In September 2016, she was a student at a college for young people with a range of special educational challenges. Where she was recommended for music therapy. She has since participated in weekly, 30-minute individual music therapy sessions.
She has been able to increase her independence via improving the ability to touch instruments and convey clear decisions thanks to her musical interaction with the therapist.She acknowledged, articulated, and investigated her emotions using music as a nonverbal medium. Both an emotional release and exhilaration have resulted from this.It improved her capacity to control her emotions. improve her voice abilities. It engaged in constructive social contact and hone her relational and communication skills
Research on music therapy shows that it is useful in six domains: social, psychological, emotional, and physical.
Emotional:
- Repressed (Bottled Up) Emotions May Be Evoked by Music and Then Released.
- Feelings Of Loneliness Can Be Lessened by Music.
- Mood Improvement
- Reducing Depression.
- Lowering Anxiety
- Increase In Self-Expression.
- Increase In Stress Reduction.
Physical:
- Your Heart Rate May Be Changed by Music, And It Can Also Reduce Blood Pressure and Respiration (Breathing) Rate.
- Enhanced Motor Learning or Processing.
- Calming Down or Better Sleep.
- It Can Enhance Gait (Walking) And Speaking as Well as Physically Provoke Conscious or Unconscious Body Motions Like Toe-Tapping or Major Body Movements.
- Managing The Discomfort or Diverting Attention from It.
- Fewer Asthma Attacks.
- Lessened Pain
- Assist Newborns Who Are Preterm with Weight Growth and Sleep.
- Aid Those Who Have Parkinson’s Disease in Strengthening Their Motor Skills.
Spiritual:
- You and your family may explore your personal spiritual views via music. Music has the power to open doors spiritually.
Cognitive:
- Music may give one a stronger sensation of control.
- coping abilities.
- lessen dementia’s negative impacts.
Social:
- Not only at huge events like parties, weddings, or funerals but also in more casual, shared situations like a hospital ward, music may bring people together socially.
- Encourage autistic kids to communicate better.
How does music therapy work?
The effects of music on the brain are quite complicated. Various parts of the brain process each component of music, including pitch, speed, and melody.
For instance, the frontal lobes decipher the emotional impulses produced by the music, the cerebellum handles rhythm, and a little fraction of the right temporal lobe aids with pitch understanding.
When exposed to intense music, the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s reward centre, can even cause strong physical indicators of pleasure, such as goosebumps.
These profound bodily responses to music that people have can be used in music therapy to support those who are dealing with mental health issues.
For instance, if you’re down, you might want to utilize music to elevate your spirits and make you happier. Try utilising music therapy to treat additional depressive symptoms including anxiety, sleeplessness, or difficulty concentrating.
You could play an instrument, listen to music from various genres, or even write your own songs during a music therapy session. They could invite you to dance or sing. Your therapist could suggest that you improvise, or they might have a predetermined format that you should adhere to.
You can be instructed to pay attention to your feelings while carrying out these chores or to let your emotions guide your behaviour. For instance, you could play or sing loud, quick, and discordant notes when you’re upset.
You may experiment with different emotional changes with the music. Your music therapist may suggest that you make or listen to music in calm, quiet, soothing tones if you exhibit anger or tension.
While individual music therapy sessions are frequently offered, you may also decide to take part in group sessions if they are offered. Sessions with a music therapist occur wherever they do their business, which might be:
- Clinic
- A Local Health Facility
- Correctional Establishment
- Hospital
- Personal Office
- Practising Physical Therapy
- Centre For Rehabilitation
No matter where you are, you will be working in a quiet space without any outside interruptions.
What are the types of music therapy?
Music therapy can be an active procedure in which patients participate in the creation of music or a passive one, in which patients just listen to or react to music. Some therapists could employ a multifaceted strategy that combines active and passive musical engagement.
There are several proven methods for music therapy, including:
- Analytical music therapy: Analytical music therapy invites you to sing or play an instrument in an unplanned, musical “conversation” to convey your unconscious ideas, which you may then reflect on and discuss with your therapist.
- Benenzon music therapy: This approach mixes the act of composing music with some psychoanalytical ideas. Finding your “musical sound identity”—the exterior sounds that most closely resemble your interior psychological state—is a component of Benenzon music therapy.
- Music and cognitive behavioural therapy are used in cognitive behavioural music therapy (CBMT). Music is employed in CBMT to change certain behaviours and encourage others. This method is organised and not improvised; it could involve dancing, singing, or playing an instrument.
Different Types Of beat and their benefits
Binaural beats: When two tones with marginally differing frequencies are given to each ear, binaural beats are produced. Your brain processes the differences between these tones to give you the perception of a particular rhythm. It relaxes the brain by producing different waves giving calmness and a sense of peace.
Monaural beats: When two tones of a comparable frequency are mixed and sent to either one or both of your ears, they are referred to as monaural tones. You’ll experience the difference between the two frequencies as a rhythm, much like binaural beats. It helps to reduce anxiety and helps in reducing tiredness.
Sound Therapy Versus Music therapy
The aims, methods, tools, and settings of music therapy and sound therapy (or sound healing) are different from one another.
- Sound therapy is founded on old Tibetan cultural practices, whereas music therapy is a relatively recent field of study.
- Music therapy focuses on treating symptoms like stress and discomfort, whereas sound therapy employs equipment to create precise sound frequencies.
- As opposed to music therapists, people who practise sound therapy have less standardised education and certification requirements.
- While sound therapists may provide their services as a part of complementary or alternative medicine, music therapists frequently work in hospitals, drug rehabilitation facilities, or private offices.
Where To Find The Professional Music Therapist
Infiheal
- Obtain a customized strategy for your mental health. We provide you personalised, round-the-clock mental health care help.
- A customised strategy that takes into consideration your spiritual views, lifestyle, etc., whether it’s matching you up with the best
counsellor, suggesting the kind of music therapy that would be effective for you, or giving you the most pertinent information for guided self-discovery.
Conclusion
Music therapy may be a useful and fun tool for treating the symptoms of many disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
People who get music therapy have an accessible and imaginative means of communicating their emotions and working through their experiences. Music has been utilized by people for a very long time because of its potent impact on mood and emotions. Music therapy has many additional advantages apart from just treating mental health issues, such as giving one a creative outlet, enhancing education and cultural awareness, and enhancing cognitive abilities like memory.
The length of a music therapy session typically ranges from 30 to 50 minutes, depending on your objectives regarding how you would schedule sessions with a psychologist, you may decide whether to engage with a music therapist on an informal “as-needed” basis or to set up regular appointments, like once a week.
