Resources & references

This article explores the evidence-based benefits of music therapy among adults with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It references existing research showing how music enhances communication, cognitive functioning, physical activity, memory, reality orientation, and quality of life.

Learn more about the benefits of music therapy by seeing a music therapy experience in action 

Certified music therapist and researcher Laurel Young discusses her clinical work and research on music therapy in bereavement care and offers recommendations for future practice and research.

This reference book offers a  comprehensive look at the use of music therapy with elderly and those living with dementia based on the research and experience of experts from around the world. It can serve as a resource for caregivers and families of individuals with dementia or Alzheimer's disease and for music therapists.

Click here to see an example of how music therapy has been used in dementia care.

This article examines how music therapy is integrated into eating disorder treatments. It reviews research on music, music therapy, and eating disorders, suggesting that music therapy may be a valuable complement to systemic and family-based approaches.

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.

The article describes an innovative method of facilitating grief resolution using precomposed music that is significant to the patient after a major loss. In this method, music is of equal importance with verbal processing as part of the overall therapeutic approach. Musical improvization is also used as a primary tool to reflect back to, and affirm for, the patient the affective content of his or her life story. 

Read a review exploring the existing evidence on the potential applications of music therapy in health care. Current evidence is highlighted, as well as existing limitations, both in research and practice. Guidelines for the development of policies supporting the integration of music therapy in health care are also discussed. 

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 investigates the effects of music therapy for adults with chronic and progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) based on current studies. The results prove that music therapy addresses emotional, physical, and interpersonal challenges that come from acquired disabilities.

This book presents some of the work from music therapists working in different approaches, in different countries, showing how valuable the inclusion of music therapy in palliative care has already proved to be. It is important for the dying, or those with terminal illness, that approaches are used which integrate the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of their being. 

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).

A music therapist presents the use of Music Therapy in Substance Abuse Treatment. He starts by describing life experiences that led him to music therapy. Then, he goes on to discuss the 5 main clinical goals to use when working with this population (which work into the S.O.B.E.R. acronym). Suggested interventions and more are also covered.