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.

The objectives of the study were: i) to describe the characteristics and effectiveness of music therapy interventions which aim to improve health-related outcomes for adult informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness, and ii) to describe the experience of music therapy for adult informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness. Conclusion: qualitative studies provide moderate to strong evidence for improved health-related outcomes for adult informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness pre-bereavement. 

At McGuire VA Medical Center, Hope Kumme, a certified music therapist, uses music to help veterans with PTSD and other chronic ailments. Learn how group music therapy sessions have helped clients improve pain management, mood, and quality of life.

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.

This article provides background information on visual impairments and the impact of these disorders on social connectedness, activities of daily living, mood, quality of life, and child development. Implications and potential for music therapy for visually-impaired children and adults are discussed.

This brief entry is a summary of a peer-reviewed article. It explains succinctly what is music therapy in palliative care. 

Click here to read the related research study.

Heather Overly, a board-certified music therapist leads a music therapy session with an older adult in hospice care. She explains how music therapy can improve quality of life among this population.

This research article reviewed existing studies to evaluate the efficacy of music therapy in supporting adults going through cancer treatment. The results showed that music therapy was effective in improving psychosocial wellbeing, pain management, and enhancing quality of life.

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.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music therapy support groups (MTSG) on physical, psychological, and social functioning of cancer patients and caregivers. A mixed-methods approach was used, including an experimental, randomized, controlled trial and qualitative data from participant comments. The experimental group demonstrated statistically significant changes pre- to post-session in (a) pain in three sessions; (b) mood, stress, and anxiety in all six sessions; and (c) quality of life in two sessions.

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.

An article about Katie Fitzpatrick, who has dedicated her education and career to music therapy and is blazing a trail in the treatment of chronic pain.