Resources & references

This article explores the efficacy of music therapy interventions in palliative care and their therapeutic impact on physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Music therapists work across populations and age groups to assist with pain management, from children during painful procedures to people at end-of-life care. Music therapists address acute, chronic as well as procedural pain.

This study evaluated the feasibility and potential benefits of a drum circle activity designed to improve the affective experience of patients, families and staff in a large pediatric hospital. This preliminary study supports the usefulness of group drumming to enhance the well-being of pediatric hospital patients, families and staff.

This article is a narrative review which offers background information on palliative care music therapy, and reports the authors’ viewpoints and reflections on supervision strategies and models employed with music therapy interns in palliative care settings based on their experiences. Approaches are shared on supporting pre-professionals as they begin working in palliative care contexts, as well as implications for supervision practices.

Click here to read a summary of the article.

This video showcases the Jared Kurtin Music Therapy Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, which is a clinical and evidence-based program for hospitalized infants, children and their families. This hospital is a leader in creative medical treatment options and has the first established pediatric music therapy program in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This video (in Spanish) explains how music has been used therapeutically throughout history. It describes how music was used in ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages, the renaissance, the baroque period, and the modern age, when music therapy was established as a profession.

This article summarizes many ways in which music therapy is used in medical institutions. Testimonials from patients and interviews with therapists are featured. 
 

This video features the story of a young patient's healing from leukemia, who benefitted from music therapy during her hospital stay. Testimonials from the child, the parents, the music therapist and a pediatrician are shown.

This article from La Press presents the work of Anne Lacourse who is certified music therapist in Canada (MTA), at the Saint Raphaël Palliative Care Home and Day Center. It includes a video (1m 6s) of the music therapist performing a song composed by one of her music therapy patients.

 Three therapists use instruments and voices — and parents — to reach kids "where they're at" and promote healing and a feeling of safety. Music therapists at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (Pascal Comeau, Julien Peyrin and Christelle Jacquet) sing and use instruments to help children get in touch with their emotions and find calm when undergoing procedures.

This systematic review indicates that music interventions compared to standard care may have beneficial effects on anxiety, depression, hope, pain, and fatigue in adults with cancer. The results of two trials suggest that music interventions may have a beneficial effect on anxiety in children with cancer. For several outcomes, music therapy interventions delivered by a trained music therapist led to consistent results across studies. The abstract is available in many languages. 

This video presents music therapy sessions at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in the Tertiary Palliative Care Unit led by Sheila Killoran, certified music therapist (Canada).