Medical Music Therapy

​In medical settings, Music Therapy is used to
  • Encourage active patient participation in treatment or improve patient compliance
  • Provide support before/during/after medical appointments and procedures
  • Improve motivation to reach rehabilitative or communication goals
  • Identify and practice using music to support patient treatment goals
  • Encourage changes in mood and emotional states
  • Support coping with loss of sensory and cognitive functions

Music Therapy can
  • aid in relaxation/sleep
  • provide opportunities for non-pharmacological management of pain and discomfort
  • alleviate fear and anxiety
  • encourage active and positive patient participation in treatment
  • provide motivation and support to reach rehabilitative goals
  • teach healthy coping skills
  • help those with limited family/social supports
  • increase procedural compliance and alleviate pressure on staff
A board-certified music therapist uses music to help people work on their medical treatment goals. Medical Music Therapy uses music-based techniques such as music listening, playing instruments, singing or songwriting to address goals like communication, cognition, socialization, emotional regulation and expression and motor skills.

Reasons to consider Music Therapy

  • Pain
  • Nausea
  • Vertigo
  • Anxiety / Depression
  • Mental Health
  • Limited family/social supports
  • End of Life / Comfort Care
  • Emotional regulation / stabilization
  • Resistance to treatment
  • Difficulty coping with hospitalization or lifestyle changes
  • Communication skill support

Research Examples
​

Music Therapy for Pain and Anxiety Management in Nasal Bone Fracture Reduction: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
​"Conclusion: Listening to music through headphones-a safe and low-cost intervention-appears to aid in pain and anxiety management associated with procedures that are usually uncomfortable, such as the reduction of nasal bone fractures with local anesthesia. We believe that this effect is achieved by the modulation of pain and anxiety on an emotional-affective dimension at a central level. Given its safety, feasibility, and low cost, music therapy should be considered a complementary treatment for pain and anxiety management for nasal fracture reduction performed with local anesthesia, as well as for other medical procedures of similar pain levels conducted without general anesthesia." (Ortega A, Gauna F, Munoz D, Oberreuter G, Breinbauer HA, Carrasco L. Music Therapy for Pain and Anxiety Management in Nasal Bone Fracture Reduction: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019 Oct;161(4):613-619. doi: 10.1177/0194599819856604. Epub 2019 Jun 11. PMID: 31184266)

Music interventions for preoperative anxiety
"This systematic review indicates that music listening may have a beneficial effect on preoperative anxiety. These findings are consistent with the findings of three other Cochrane systematic reviews on the use of music interventions for anxiety reduction in medical patients. Therefore, we conclude that music interventions may provide a viable alternative to sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs for reducing preoperative anxiety." (Bradt J, Dileo C, Shim M. Music interventions for preoperative anxiety. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Jun 6;(6):CD006908. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006908.pub2. PMID: 23740695.)