Resources & references

In this video, a music therapist and a mother share the benefits of music therapy for premature babies. 

Click here to read the related article.

This video presents music therapy sessions led by Kelly Sweeney and Jessie Palmer, board-certified music therapists, for patients in the Carilion Clinic Hospice. Note: The beginning (2m 33s) corresponds to the excerpt shown in the lesson on music therapy. 

This review investigated the effects of music-based interventions (music therapy and music medicine) on pain and anxiety in children and adults undergoing medical procedures. Conclusions: There is a need to clearly define and differentiate between music therapy and music medicine interventions in procedural support research. Further research is necessary to determine which patients would benefit most from music interventions during medical procedures, and which interventions are most beneficial. 

This article explores the role of assessment in hospice music therapy. It presents an assessment tool designed to assist music therapists in achieving a detailed portrayal of the current level of functioning of adult hospice patients and obtaining relevant information to be used to create a care plan.

Emotional and physical healing can come from a single song that masks the pain, according to a burn a patient at the Birmingham Hospital. They never knew the power that music would play in healing during such a traumatic time of their life. This article includes a video (2:15).

Emotional and physical healing can come from a simple song that masks the pain, according to Markeyla Williams, 22, a patient at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital. Williams never knew the power that music would play in healing during such a traumatic time of her life. You can also read the complete article (see other reference with same title).

Click here to read the related article.

This qualitative study explores the lived experience of inter-active listening (IAL), an individualized music therapy experience in which the therapist plays music or sings while the patient engages through listening. The study found that a receptive music therapy referred to as IAL was associated, in cancer patients in an acute palliative care unit, with increased emotional and spiritual well-being and a greater sense of connection to self and others.

Music therapists Antoni Aceves, Joel Olivé, and Rolando Benenzon discuss what music therapy is, its potential applications, and its therapeutic benefits across diverse populations.

Discover how EEG data validated the positive effect of music therapy on emotional well-being, as well as reduction of breathing difficulties, anxiety, and fatigue for a group of cancer patients in a palliative care context. 

This study is about music therapy with adolescents undergoing chemotherapy.  A significant reduction in anxiety, nausea and vomiting was observed. Furthermore, perceived stress and psychological/physical wellbeing were improved in participants. 

This study shows that maternal singing during neonatal hospitalization can reduce anxiety and support wellbeing and early bonding after preterm birth, though mothers may need guidance and privacy to feel comfortable.

This study examined whether music therapy is was beneficial among adults with sickle cell disease and chronic pain. Interviews revealed that participants learned new self-management skills and that music therapy improved their ability to cope with pain.

Click here to watch a video about this study.