Exploring the world of music therapy

Understanding Music Therapy: What Is It?

Music therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses various forms of musical expression (songs, improvisation, rhythms/beats, songwriting, etc.) to help clients achieve non-musical goals, such as improved mood. Backed by strong research, music therapy is an evidence-based practice shown to foster significant emotional and psychological progress in clients. Therapy sessions may include songwriting, rhythm-making, and guided musical analysis to help individuals process their thoughts and emotions.

Types of Music Therapy: Which is Right for You?

The term “music therapy” is a broad term that covers many different interventions, each serving different needs. Examples include: 

• Receptive music therapy: This type is focused on using the experience of listening to music (rather than creating or performing) and studying client responses. The therapist may choose different styles of music and provide additional verbal guidance. Clients may respond with words, movement, or other expression, but action is not required. 
• Expressive music therapy: This type of music therapy involves creating or performing music. Clients take an active role in these cases, either by writing lyrics or melodies, playing instruments, or singing.  

These are the two most common types of music therapy used in Western culture, but other forms exist as well, such as guided imagery and music (GIM).

How Does Music Therapy Work?

Music therapy promotes healing by encouraging mindfulness and self-awareness through music, a familiar and often safe medium. It helps individuals stay present, identify emotional triggers, and develop healthier coping strategies. 

Music therapy enables clients to express themselves both directly and indirectly, fostering a sense of awareness of their emotions. During sessions, clients learn to communicate on their own terms, regain a sense of autonomy in their lives, and reconnect with others through the shared experience of music.

What Is Music Therapy Used to Treat?

One of the biggest benefits of music therapy is how adaptive and flexible it is. It can be used to treat a wide variety of clinical conditions, such as: 

• Depression
• Anxiety; panic and anxiety attacks
• PTSD
• Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia

However, music can also be used for healing outside of clinical spaces. Beyond clinical settings, certified music therapists work with:

• Elderly individuals to reduce dementia symptoms
• Hospitalized patients to increase comfort
• Children with autism to improve communication skills
• Brain injury survivors to regain speech
• Individuals with asthma to reduce episode frequency
• Individuals with Parkinson’s disease to facilitate stability in movement

What Exactly Does a Music Therapist Do?

The goal of a music therapist is to provide a safe space for clients to practice being mindful and present regarding their bodies and thoughts, as well as facilitate communication in a non-judgmental way. 

First, though, a music therapist works to build a strong relationship with their client founded on trust so that the client feels comfortable expressing their feelings through musical mediums. A music therapist then utilizes music to help the client identify and interpret themes and elements of expression that they are witnessing in themselves.

What Are the 5 Domains of Music Therapy?

There are five main domains that music therapy can positively impact, though it is certainly not limited to those five. These domains of music therapy are areas that a therapist might pull from in order to treat specific issues or categorize emotions or experiences when assessing clients’ responses during sessions. 

The main domains of music therapy include:

1. Cognitive: This domain focuses on things like improving executive functioning and maintaining attention. It’s difficult to understand how you function without a roadmap of your mind. Through music, therapists can teach clients to make connections between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors by examining their connections to certain types of music, certain songs or lyrics, or how they feel when they play certain instruments. Once they gain the ability to make these connections, they’ll be better able to understand where their emotions are coming from and what behaviors they influence.
2. Communicative: This domain focuses on both verbal and non-verbal communication. Music and musical instruments can be applied emotionally and practically to help clients with a variety of struggles. It can make it easier to communicate emotions by examining personal connections to songs or instruments, while instruments like kazoos or singing can help people who physically struggle with speech.
3. Emotional: A core tenet of music therapy is evoking emotion. When people learn to identify their emotions, they can more easily identify and communicate their needs, which helps them manage and regulate their emotions more effectively. Therapists might help clients express their emotions through improvisation, writing their own song lyrics, or analyzing songs with themes related to what they’ve reported feeling.
4. Physical: This domain is less related to treating mental health conditions and more focused on honing fine and gross motor skills. This might involve playing instruments to increase a client’s endurance or range of motion.
5. Social: This domain focuses on interpersonal relationships and one’s ability to interact with others. Music can help improve social skills like discussing shared interests or debating topics, or even levels of eye contact and someone’s ability to take turns.

Why Is Music Therapy Important for Dementia?

Music therapy has been clinically proven to be an effective treatment for neurocognitive disorders often seen in aging, such as dementia, due to its ability to activate and re-engage previous memories. 

Music therapy can not only help with cognitive flexibility and memory recall, but it can also help reduce levels of distress and mental anguish in patients with dementia. It can actually serve as a significant source of comfort for both patients and families, as it allows patients with dementia to regain autonomy and a sense of authority in processing thoughts, feelings, and memories they might experience.

Benefits of Music Therapy for Mental Health

According to research, music therapy can be linked to better treatment outcomes and has been clinically shown to decrease levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in clients. 

Further, since music therapy is a practice that can readily be used both in and outside of therapy and can be highly personalized, it can effectively help clients increase their overall life satisfaction and has led to more sustained progress and results.

If you think that music therapy could be a helpful alternative to traditional talk therapy for you, consider setting up an appointment with a certified music therapist. They can create a personalized therapy process to lead you through and give you the tools you need to create the life you want.