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What are the mental benefits of music therapy?
Research shows the benefits of music therapy for various mental health conditions, including depression, trauma, and schizophrenia (to name a few). Music acts as a medium for processing emotions, trauma, and grief—but music can also be utilized as a regulating or calming agent for anxiety or for dysregulation. Music can be distracting and lower your stress In fact, research has shown that it can lessen the impact of depression and anxiety. A study done in 2019 found that college students who listened to classical music every day for two months lowered their levels of anxiety significantly. Research shows that music can uniquely form new connections in the brain. Listening to music also improves neuron repair better than other activities – such as listening to an audiobook – which may mean the brain functions better and builds new connections. The future of music therapy includes a wellness model that follows individuals throughout their lifespan and their everchanging needs. This future enables music therapists to more actively engage services at the corporate wellness level. Classical Music This theory, which has been dubbed the Mozart Effect, suggests that listening to classical composers can enhance brain activity and act as a catalyst for improving health and well-being.
Who benefits the most from music therapy?
Music therapy may be beneficial to those who find it difficult to express themselves in words, including children, adolescents, adults and seniors. Treatment may help those with: Mental health needs. Developmental and learning disabilities. Studies suggest that music therapy can improve symptoms of depression, with those undergoing music therapy along with standard treatments for depression — such as talking therapy — improving more than people who only received standard therapy. Music actually has healing powers, and when you choose the right music for your mind and apply it correctly, it can have a huge positive impact on your mental health. It can calm and soothe the nervous system as well as slow brain aging – here’s how. Music therapy offers more comprehensive and engaging care for patients than music medicine does. Music medicine for the most part is a term used to describe when a medical practitioner uses music in the course of treating their patient. Music therapy, in contrast to this, uses music in a more fully rounded way. Songs by Queen, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley are among the most effective for music therapy patients, a UK study has found. Queen’s classic We Will Rock You came out on top, with Marley’s Three Little Birds and Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall making the top five.
What are the pros and cons of music therapy?
Overall there really are no cons or negative effects of trying out music therapy. It offers many people immense anxiety relief and an opportunity to consider and examine their emotions. Music therapy is not an instant fix for issues with anxiety, stress, or depression. Music therapy is an evidence-based treatment that helps with a variety of disorders including cardiac conditions, depression, autism, substance abuse and Alzheimer’s disease. It can help with memory, lower blood pressure, improve coping, reduce stress, improve self-esteem and more. Some doctors (GPs and specialists) recommend music therapy to treat ailments, like heart diseases, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorders), Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, brain dysfunction, and depression. Oxford University holds that classical music can help improve heart conditions and maintain blood pressure. You’ll work with people of all ages and use music to help clients through emotional or mental problems, learning and/or physical disabilities, developmental disorders, life-limiting conditions, neurological conditions or physical illnesses.
What does music therapy do to the brain?
Engaging in music has been shown to facilitate neuroplasticity, therefore positively influencing quality of life and overall functioning. Research has shown that music activates cognitive, motor, and speech centers in the brain through accessing shared neural systems. Music is said to enhance intelligence and focus, improve mental health, and boost the immune system as well as self-esteem and confidence. It can be used to relax, to boost and lift our mood, or to improve concentration. Music can also be used to aid in insomnia, helping to encourage and induce a deeper sleep. Music and Mood Listening to (or making) music increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions. The limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory, “lights” up when our ears perceive music. Music therapists assess emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, and cognitive skills through musical responses; design music sessions for individuals and groups based on client needs using music improvisation, receptive music listening, song writing, lyric discussion, music …
What are the 2 types of music therapy?
Music-based therapy is based on two fundamental methods – the ‘receptive’ listening based method, and the ‘active’ method based on playing musical instruments (Guetin et al., 2009). Depending on your goals, a typical music therapy session lasts between 30 and 50 minutes. 24 Much like you would plan sessions with a psychotherapist, you may choose to have a set schedule for music therapy—say, once a week—or you may choose to work with a music therapist on a more casual as-needed basis. When our unconscious expectations for music are met, we feel rewarded. Listening to live music also has been linked to a release of oxytocin, which is known as the love or trust neurotransmitter. Oxytocin helps us bond with others and socialize, which can be an important part of treating mood disorders like depression. It was originally created by American composer and music therapist Paul Nordoff and British music therapist Clive Robbins as a therapeutic approach for children and adults with significant developmental disabilities (e.g., intellectual, sensory, or motor disability). Music can uplift our soul, foster in us feelings of joy, compassion and love. Music is an integral part of any social gathering. It also soothes our mind, so much so that it is now recognized as a form of therapy.