Essay on Music Therarpy - 488 Words

Music therapy is the prescribed use of music and musical interventions in order to restore, maintain, and improve emotional, physical, physiological, and spiritual health as well as a person’s well being. Music Therapy facilitates the creative process of moving toward wholeness in the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual self in areas such as: independence, freedom to change, adaptability, balance and integration. The implementation of Music Therapy involves interactions of the therapist, client and music. These interactions initiate and sustain musical and non-musical change that may or may not be observable. As the musical elements of rhythm, melody and harmony are elaborated across time, the therapist and client can develop†¦show more content†¦Its so effective that music therapy is reimbursable under certain conditions of Medicare. One study done by six major universities found that teaching healthy elderly people to play instruments decreased their anxiety, loneliness, and depression. In hospitals, anxious patients often have elevated blood pressure, heartbeat, and respiratory rates, placing them at greater risk for complications. For an anxious patient, music can have a comparable effect as taking five milligrams of Valium. When music plays in the operating room, Dr. Schwartz says, â€Å"Anesthesia requirements drop from 10 to 20 percent.† As a part of the cable TV system, music can be accessed anywhere in the complex, including operating rooms, labor and delivery, the cardiac intensive care unit, and the nursery, all ranging from classical to gospel. Studies showed that premature babies in intensive care who were exposed to music were calmer and used oxygen more efficiently. The babies also gained weight faster and required shorter periods of hospitalization than babies who didnt listen to music. Burn victims, and patients undergoing treatment for cancer, brain disorders, and kidney dialysis reported less discomfort when music was played during painful procedures. Patients who awoke to music playing after surgery required less pain medication and could wait longer for their analgesic