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Music Therapy Research Paper

Decent Essays

Music therapy asses’ emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, and cognitive skills through musical responses. These responses can consist of easy to identify reactions, such as dancing, facial expression, head nodding, or foot tapping, to smaller responses, like eye movement. Sessions are designed for individuals and groups based on client needs using music improvisation, receptive music listening, song writing, lyric discussion, music and imagery, music performance, and learning through music. All styles of music can be useful in effecting change in a client or patient’s life. Along with all the physical benefits of music therapy, it is also easy on the pockets.
Since 1994, music therapy has been …show more content…

Music therapists help their patients achieve goals through music, including but not limited to improvement of communication, academic strengths, attention span, and motor skills. They may also assist with behavioral therapy and pain management. Music therapy is noninvasive, it activates multiple areas of the brain that are necessary for positive and successful results, and for a lot of patients, a preferred type of therapy. It is cost effective, does not have post treatment side effects, and benefits more than just the patient, but those around them; such as, friends, family, and care givers.. Music engages the brain in a very powerful and comprehensive way. The reason is that dementia patients need caregivers to watch them at all times to help with basic activities like eating, dressing and bathing, and provide constant supervision to make sure they do not wander off or harm themselves. On average, the out-of-pocket cost for a patient with dementia was $61,522 which is more than 80 percent higher than the cost for someone with heart disease or cancer . Besides therapy, medication, and extra help being expensive, there are a handful of other possible side effects. Some of the many possible side effects with medicinal therapy are nausea, increased appetite and weight gain, loss of sexual desire, fatigue and drowsiness, insomnia, blurred vision, dizziness, anxiety, and possible drug addiction. For the high cost of living with …show more content…

Music therapist and author Alicia Ann Clair identifies four main benefits for those with late stage dementia: changes in facial expression and tension, increased eye contact, vocal activity, and physical movement (Clair, pp. 81-82). Although music cannot make one with dementia cured, it can make a patient feel more comfortable, less agitated, and even remember or recognize familiar faces such as friends or family. Agitation and confusion among those with dementia is one of the main areas of concern for health care practitioners and care givers. Studies have shown, even when a person cannot remember their spouse of fifty or more years or their own children, patients can remember song lyrics, or a memory linked to the song and for a moment, the patient is able to identify someone they were once close to or acquainted with . With Parkinson’s disease, it is known that even when a patient is not able to speak correctly, or has hand tremors, a patient can play a musical instrument or sing with no problem. For the limited amount of positive results possible, music therapy is affordable with little to no side effects, is noninvasive, and has shown more effectiveness compared to other type of therapies. Even though Dementia in general has the same outcome, each cause behind the disease can be treated

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