Resources & references

This article examines the therapeutic benefits of music therapy for palliative care patients experiencing physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual distress. Findings suggest that music therapy offers a cost-effective, nonpharmacological approach to relieving symptoms among pallative care patients and supporting healthcare providers.

Watch as music therapist Kelsey MacDonald provides music therapy sessions to a patient with dementia at Aberdeen Hospital and listen to testimonials from the patient's daughter and the director of the palliative care unit.

Watch a video of a music therapist working with a young autistic girl. Goals discussed include communication, social skills and functional skills.

This book chapter explains the effects of music therapy in palliative care. It is derived from the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine (5th Ed) published by the Oxford University Press. Note: The link includes the full text of the chapter (i.e., 18 pages plus references).

In this video, a music therapist presents his study about music therapy interventions for adults with sickle cell disease (SCD).  The full study is also available: click here to read it.

Read an article on how music therapists in the United States address spiritual needs in individuals with substance use disorders. Results found that a variety of methods are employed, humanistic approaches are the most common, and that both song discussion and lyric analysis were useful in targeting spiritual goals.

This video features Anna Lacourse, certified music therapist who presents her work with a patient at the Saint-Raphaël Palliative Care Home and Day Center. The patient gives a testimonial and describes the benefits he has experienced through music therapy.

Read a thesis exploring the literature around combining narrative therapy techniques with therapeutic songwriting techniques to support children and adolescents living through adverse childhood experiences. Trauma-informed care is highlighted, as well as a discussion surrounding both factors which can promote and which can hinder success of the approach.

This paper examines current literature in developmental psychology in order to discuss how music therapy can foster resilience in early childhood. Music therapy can help prepare young children and their families for handling adversity, increase parental sensitivity, and create multiple opportunities for families to develop adaptive interpersonal interaction patterns.

This is a summary of a study, which reveals promising findings for the application of improvisational music therapy in assuaging the multidimensional acute pain of adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). 

Findings of this study suggest that a group songwriting music therapy intervention can be as effective as traditional psychoeducation to teach psychiatric patients how to proactively manage their illness.

Karla Hawley, a board certified music therapist, shares how a nostalgic piece of music helped her address and overcome the pain of childhood abuse. Through her personal testimony, she describes how music can help individuals express their emotions and heal from traumatic experiences.