Resources & references

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 exposes a case study of a child who was born without eyes and has always feared medical procedures. She is enrolled in music therapy at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s to decrease her anxiety.

University of Louisville (UofL) Health is integrating music therapy into its care plan for inpatient psychiatric patients at UofL Hospital. This video introduces you to Katelyn Farris, the music therapist who is helping patients relax and recover through the soothing sounds of music.

This study explores the sociodemographic, clinical and intervention characteristics associated with clinically significant pain reductions for adults within a single music therapy session. Findings suggest that interventions involving singing, active instrument play, and relaxation/imagery may be more effective than interventions only involving listening. 

Click here to read a news article about the study.

This research article presents a case study of an adult man with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who participated in music therapy sessions. The results determined that music improvisation improved affect regulation, exploration of trauma-related issues, and self-agency.

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.

 Elizabeth Stegemöller presents at the TEDx Iowa State University event on music therapy and its impacts on the brain. She is a music therapist and utilizes music therapy to treat people with Parkinson's disease.

Previous literature in music therapy suggests a need for greater clarity and insight concerning correlations between music and spirituality for the modern clinician. The purpose of this article is to provide a clear explanation of these correlations and some possible implications for the practice of music therapy.

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.

This video features an individual who was paralyzed due to a motor vehicle collision and participated in music therapy sessions. The video includes clips of music therapy sessions, testimonials from the patient, and interviews from certified music therapists.