Music Therapy: Research and Evidence-Based Practice

Olivia Swedberg Yinger

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780323485609
• eBook ISBN: 9780323496018
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Psychiatry & Mental Health

Get a quick, expert overview of the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions in health care. This practical resource compiled by Dr. Olivia Swedberg Yinger provides a concise, useful overview of the profession of music therapy, including a description of each of the research-support practices that occur in the settings where music therapists most commonly work.- Features a wealth of information on music therapy and its relevance in education settings, mental health treatment, medical treatment and rehabilitation, hospice and palliative care, gerontology, and wellness.- Includes a chapter on current trends and future directions in music therapy- Consolidates today's available information and guidance in this timely area into one convenient resource.

Chapter 1

Overview of the Music Therapy Profession

Olivia Swedberg Yinger, PhD, MT-BC

Abstract

The profession of music therapy in the United States has a rich history and has grown considerably over the past few decades. Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to achieve individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship with a credentialed music therapist. Music therapists in the United States go through rigorous training to earn the MT-BC (music therapist-board certified) credential. Individuals of all ages have been shown to benefit from music therapy, and treatment may occur in a wide range of settings, including children’s facilities and schools, mental health settings, medical settings, geriatric facilities, hospice and bereavement services, and private practice settings. Music therapists may address cognitive, communicative, emotional, musical, physiological, psychosocial, sensorimotor, or spiritual goals. Broadly speaking, music therapy interventions may involve listening to music, talking about music, making music, and/or moving to music; the specific intervention or interventions are selected based on the specific needs, abilities, goals, and preferences of the client. Live, preferred music, although not used with every client, has been shown to be highly effective in helping bring about therapeutic change. Various approaches to music therapy exist, and the research base on music therapy treatment, while already strong, is rapidly growing.

Keywords

music therapy; music therapist; creative arts therapies; expressive arts therapies; rehabilitation science

Introduction

An infant born prematurely is receiving intermediate care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). To be discharged from the NICU, the infant must first be able to be bottle-fed, rather than receive feedings via an orogastric tube. Once the infant’s gestational age is 34 weeks, a music therapist implements the use of the Pacifier Activated Lullaby device, which uses music contingently to improve nonnutritive sucking. This helps the infant bottle-feed faster and ultimately go home sooner.

A music therapist working with a group of 3-year-olds on school readiness might address skills for appropriate social interaction, such as listening, following directions, sharing, and appropriately greeting others by smiling, waving, and/or saying hello or goodbye.

A 10-year-old child with an intellectual disability has difficulty remembering his mother’s phone number. A music therapist teaches it to him using a simple but engaging original song. The child and the music therapist practice the song together repeatedly until the child can sing in independently. After practicing the song for several weeks, the child is able to recite his mother’s phone number fluently through speaking rather than singing.

A group of four teenagers in an acute behavioral healthcare facility are getting the care they need to better function in their lives outside the facility. To make the most of their brief time at the facility, the teens are expected to engage in group therapy, which can be awkward with people they do not know well who may be at the facility for vastly different reasons. A music therapist engages them in a conversation about the lyrics of a popular song and they realize that not only can they relate to the experience of the person who wrote the song, but also relate each other. This allows them to feel more comfortable sharing with each other when the music therapist guides the conversation to a discussion about stress reduction strategies and coping skills.

A 35-year-old patient is recovering from surgery and has been prescribed opioid medications for pain relief. He may self-administer pain medication as needed (within certain limitations) via a pain-medication pump. The patient’s surgeon requests that a music therapist see the client once a day during recovery to see if teaching relaxation skills with music can reduce the amount of pain medication that the client self-administers in an effort to decrease the risk of opioid addiction.

A 72-year-old woman recently had a stroke and is working with a physical therapist at an inpatient rehabilitation facility on seated range of motion and endurance exercises. The physical therapist asks the music therapist to provide live instrumental music at a tempo appropriate for the pace at which the client can perform the physical exercises, and the rhythm of the music helps prime the client’s motor system so that she is better able to perform the exercises.

An 89-year-old man is receiving hospice care because of terminal cancer. A music therapist meets with him and his wife in their home several times a week to help create a musical legacy project. This will allow his wife to have a meaningful gift to remember him by. Through the process of creating the legacy project, the couple is able to spend quality time together singing, listening to, and talking about their favorite music.

The aforementioned case examples illustrate some ways in which music therapists use carefully chosen music therapy interventions to address individualized goals of people at different stages of life with very diverse needs. Understanding evidence-based practice in music therapy requires some knowledge of where, with whom, why, and how music therapists practice. This chapter will provide readers with a basic understanding of music therapy professional practices in the United States. First, I will define music therapy and provide a brief history of how the music therapy profession came into existence in the United States. Next, I will describe education and clinical training requirements for board-certified music therapists and settings in which music therapists frequently work. Then, I will outline commonly used music therapy interventions, the music therapy treatment process, and domains addressed in music therapy practice. Finally, I will describe common approaches to music therapy, advanced music therapy practice, and how to differentiate music therapy from other types of music-based services.

Fig. 1.1 Defining music therapy, according to the American Music Therapy Association.

Defining Music Therapy

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines music therapy as “…the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program” (AMTA, 2016a, 1st para). There are key components of this definition that differentiate music therapy from other uses of music for wellness and healing. First, music therapy includes the evidence-based use of music interventions. Evidence-based practice is based on the best available research, clinical expertise, and the needs and choices of the individual client, patient, or student (McKibbon, 1998). Second, music interventions are used to accomplish individualized goals, meaning the music itself a...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1. Overview of the Music Therapy Profession
• Chapter 2. Neurologic Foundations of Music-Based Interventions
• Chapter 3. Music Therapy in Educational Settings
• Chapter 4. Music Therapy in Mental Health Treatment
• Chapter 5. Music Therapy in Medical Treatment and Rehabilitation
• Chapter 6. Music Therapy in Hospice and Palliative Care
• Chapter 7. Music Therapy in Gerontology
• Chapter 8. Music Therapy and Wellness
• Chapter 9. Current Trends and Future Directions in Music Therapy
• Glossary
• Index