Music Therapy and Depression
Music therapy may help some patients fight depression, according to a report published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2008 (Maratos AS, Gold C, Wang X, Crawford MJ. “Music therapy for depression.” Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 23;(1):CD004517) Researchers combined data from five previously published studies and found that participants receiving music therapy were more likely to see a decrease in depression symptoms (compared to those who did not receive music therapy).
One of my YouTube listeners made this comment which I believe illustrates this affect of music on depression:
J. F. shared: “I have known much loss in the last 4 years and there is current ongoing loss. At times the grief and sorrow are quite painful. Your gift of music is a healing, calming balm to my soul. Thank you for sharing it so generously; I am grateful.”
Music Therapy and Stress
The same study in the Cochrane Database also showed that there were significant reductions in stress for those who were experiencing various cardiac problems from blood pressure issues to arterial stenosis and cardiac ejection fractions leading to congestive heart failure. Many of these health issues produce stress because of the uncertainty of the long-term effects and outcomes. These people are not sure how they are going to be able to manage with these issues present in their lives.
I have found both at the bedside as well as in comments from my listeners that the harp music is very effective in dealing with this stress. Here are a couple of comments:
K.H. said: “Ah the beauty The Soothing of our weary souls.”
M.B. said: “So beautiful, thanks for sharing. It is such soothing and comforting music!”
Notice the word “soothing” in these comments. There are many more such comments, but I think you get the point.
Music Therapy and Autism
I have found in personal experiences that music is really effective in dealing with autistic individuals. Long before I started playing the harp, there was a blind autistic young woman in our community that was on the severe end of the spectrum. She could speak in repeating phrases but very difficult to understand. However, when you put her in front of a piano, she could really play. It was amazing.
Having shared my harp music, I have been in many situations where the music visibly affected autistic people. Once, while in Jordan, I was taken to an autistic children’s daycare center. There was a blind girl there, who was also deaf and mute. She just sat in a corner all isolated and not interacting at all. I took my harp over to her and had her put her hand on the sound box while I played a tune. As the vibrations from the music transferred to her hand, her face lit up with a huge smile! It was amazing to see the transformation.
Music Therapy and Cancer
Ms. Wong quotes a research study suggesting that music therapy may offer a number of benefits for people coping with cancer. A 2011 study from Oncology Nursing Forum found that music therapy helped reduce anxiety in patients receiving radiation therapy. (Smith M, Casey L, Johnson D, Gwede C, Riggin OZ. “Music as a therapeutic intervention for anxiety in patients receiving radiation therapy.” Oncol Nurs Forum. 2001 28(5):855-62)
Another study from the same journal found that music therapy may ease nausea and vomiting resulting from high-dose chemotherapy. (Ezzone S, Baker C, Rosselet R, Terepka E. “Music as an adjunct to antiemetic therapy.” Oncol Nurs Forum. 1998;25:1551-1556)