Resources & references

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.

Pain is one of the most common and difficult symptoms to manage in adult burn patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This systematic review and meta-analysis provide an update of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) using music therapy or music medicine interventions with adult burn patients. It provides preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of music interventions this population. However, more high-quality RCTs are needed to establish guidelines.

This video shows examples of music therapy sessions and perspectives from music therapists and the Children's Hospital in Boston.

Board Certified music therapy program at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Funded by Children's Miracle Network - Herskey. By manipulating the elements of a song, music therapists help control a patient's pain and anxiety, ease adjustment to the hospital setting and promote rehabilitation.

Watch how certified music therapist  Amy Smith supports children in a pediatric hospital setting, with specific examples from neonatal intensive care (NICU) and rehabilitation.

Presentation by Tanya Lavoie, certified music therapist, working at the Montreal Children's Hospital.

Watch how music therapy is provided in a pediatric hospital setting to work on a variety of goals with children with diverse needs.

See how music therapy is used in a pediatric hospital setting. Goals discussed include tolerance of medical procedures, pain and anxiety management, and stabilization of vital signs.

This research article evaluated how music therapy can help children, teenagers, and young adults with cancer and blood disorders. It determined that music therapy is highly beneficial to have in an interdisciplinary team to manage symptoms and provide psychosocial care.