Recently, I received an email from Wanda Blair, the main editor at The Grove Estate
(https://grovetreatment.com).
She made note of a recent article I published both in Masters of Health Magazine and my website: https://calmingharp.com/effects-of-music-posts/music-used-in-cancer-patient-therapy/
She informed me that her team had just published a comprehensive article on "Music Therapy for Addiction: Emotional Balance, Recovery" and offered to share it with this publication. I refer you to her article here: https://grovetreatment.com/addiction/treatment/therapy/experiential/music/
Her first paragraph starts out with, “Music therapy emerges as a powerful ally, providing a harmonious blend of emotional support and creative expression. It serves as a non-verbal avenue for individuals to navigate the complexities of addiction, offering a therapeutic space for emotional exploration and healing. This approach, integrating melody and rhythm, plays a pivotal role in enhancing traditional recovery methods, striking a chord in the journey towards emotional balance and recovery.” I will let you link to that article for further reading.
As she made me aware of the Grove Treatment Center and their use of music therapy successfully with their clients, I thought it might be a great idea to focus on some other sources highlighting the importance of using music therapy for treatment of addictive behaviors and substances.
A study published in PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4268880/ was performed to determine what percentage of treatment programs used music therapy as a viable treatment modality. They determined that approximately 15 % of all treatment programs were using some form of music therapy regularly and this is expected to grow as the effectiveness is demonstrated.
“The idea is to help patients tap into emotions and needs that may be difficult to express through more traditional forms of communication. Furthermore, music therapy also provides a way to motivate patients to receive treatment. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) states that music therapy is useful regardless of musical background, and examples of clinical music therapy include lyric analysis, relaxation training, songwriting, musical games, and improvising music based on emotions or other topics relevant to treatment. In these treatments, patients go beyond simply listening to music to engage emotions, motivations, and barriers to recovery through lyrics and melody.”
An article in American Music Therapy Association’s publication explained some of the science behind music therapy for treating addiction: https://www.musictherapy.org/assets/1/7/FactSheet_Music_Therapy_and_Addiction_Treatment_2021.pdf