By Martha A. Simpson, D.O., M.B.A.
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

MUSIC THERAPY CAN IMPROVE EMOTIONAL OUTLOOK AND EASE PAIN

Question: My daughter is a sophomore in college and just wrote home to tell us she was changing her major to something called music therapy. She said this was an allied health field. I’ve never heard of this before. Can you tell me anything about it?

Answer: Actually, this field has been around since at least World War I. Music therapy as a discipline got its start during both world wars when musicians traveled to veterans’ hospitals to play for patients who were suffering physical and emotional trauma from combat. Doctors found that patients exposed to music reported an improved mood and less pain; then, toward the end of World War II, the first music therapy degree program was started at Michigan State University. Today there are many quality programs accredited by the American Music Therapy Association, including one here at Ohio University. Students in these programs receive training in music and how to use it as a therapeutic tool. Skills are acquired through classroom study and in supervised, community-based clinical field placements.

The growth of this field has been spurred by a body of research evidence showing that listening to music can have emotional and physiological benefits. Most studies show that what matters is not necessarily the style of music, but the fact that patients select music for themselves. Also, no musical ability is required to benefit from music therapy.

A dramatic example of the effectiveness of music therapy came from a 90-year-old woman who testified at a U.S. Senate hearing in the 1990s. She told the senators that her doctors had said she would never walk again, but that through music therapy she was able to forget about her pain and then could walk with assistance.

Some doctors have begun to regard music therapy as a useful tool in treating neurological disorders, especially Parkinson’s and Alzheimer disease. A growing number of clinics now use music on a regular basis to help developmentally disabled children learn and communicate with each other.

Sometimes, hospital patients are given tapes or CDs to listen to before surgery, and music is pumped into maternity wards. Even healthy individuals regularly use music, especially to help relieve stress, and music often keeps people motivated for exercise.

Unlike some other forms of alternative or complementary medicine, music is safe, inexpensive and has no side effects. If you have to undergo a medical procedure and you’re a bit nervous about it, you might want to ask your doctor if you can bring a portable CD or tape player with you to the hospital or doctor’s office. Usually, doctors won’t object to you doing that, although they may request that you use headphones to avoid disturbing other patients.

Music therapists have gone well beyond the confines of medical hospitals in their work. They now work at psychiatric hospitals, hospice programs, rehabilitation centers, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, halfway houses and schools. So your daughter will have lots of choices and good employment opportunities.

You can find out more about a career in this field by going the American Music Therapy Association’s Web site. The URL is www.musictherapy.org.

Family Medicine® is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to Martha A. Simpson, D.O., M.B.A., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, P.O. Box 110, Athens, Ohio 45701, or via e-mail to readerquestions@familymedicinenews.org. Medical information in this column is provided as an educational service only. It does not replace the judgment of your personal physician, who should be relied on to diagnose and recommend treatment for any medical conditions. Past columns are available online at www.familymedicinenews.org.