"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Music has the potential to release endorphins into the bloodstream as a way to create a happy emotional state, they are also strong pain blockers.

Music Therapy can be defined as the use of music and/or elements of music (Like sound, rhythm and harmony) to reduce stress or improve quality of life. A music therapist personalized and customized each music session for the user based on their preferences and past experiences. The sessions are recorded and feedback is journaled as music therapy progresses. 

It is all custom, the length of each session and individual needs and wants. As this is highly preferable, which can include singing, writing music or playing instruments. 

Research indicates that music therapy can help with : 

Before a customized music therapy journey, the following information is required from the user:

Greek, Egyptian, and Native American nations employed music in rituals and healing rites after realizing the power of music to influence emotions and mental states.

The 20th century saw the formal establishment of music therapy as a therapeutic field pick up steam, partly because of individuals like Eva Augusta Vescelius and E. Thayer Gaston. Early in the 20th century, Vescelius, an American music educator, popularized the idea of "music as therapy," emphasizing the application of music to treat emotional and behavioral problems. Gaston, a psychiatrist, made substantial contributions to the development of music therapy as a profession by advancing the field by incorporating music into clinical settings.
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/anxiety-music-therapy/
Music therapy has its root in the military, The United States Department of War issued Technical Bulletin 187 in 1945("‘Music in Reconditioning in ASF Convalescent and General Hospitals’), which described the use of music in the recovery of military service members in Army hospitals. Recovery in army hospitals♪(https://www.musictherapy.org/about/history/)

Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Office of the Surgeon General worked together to lead one of the earliest assessments of a music therapy program. The goal of the study was to understand whether "music presented according to a specific plan" influenced recovery among service members with mental and emotional disorders. Eventually, case reports in reference to this study relayed not only the importance but also the impact of music therapy services in the recovery of military service personnel.

The first university sponsored music therapy course was taught by Margaret Anderton in 1919 at Columbia University. Anderton’s clinical specialty was working with war wounded Canadian soldiers during the first world war, using music based services to aid in their recovery process.Recovery of War Wounded Canadian soldiers♪(https://www.musictherapy.org/about/history/)

In the 1940s, three persons began to emerge as innovators and key players in the development of music therapy as an organized clinical profession. Psychiatrist and music therapist Ira Altshuler, MD promoted music therapy in Michigan for three decades. Willem van de Wall pioneered the use of music therapy in state-funded facilities and wrote the first "how to" music therapy text, Music in Institutions (1936). E. Thayer Gaston, known as the "father of music therapy," was instrumental in moving the profession forward in terms of an organizational and educational standpoint. The first music therapy college training programs were also created in the 1940s. Michigan State University established the first academic program in music therapy (1944) and other universities followed suit, including the University of Kansas, Chicago Musical College, College of the Pacific, and Alverno College. https://www.musictherapy.org/about/history/

The National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) was founded at a meeting in New York City on June 2, 1950. NAMT succeeded where previous music therapy associations previously failed by creating a constitution and bylaws, developing standards for university-level educational and clinical training requirements, making research and clinical training a priority, creating a registry and, later, board-certification requirements, and publishing research and clinical journals. NAMT operated from 1950-1997 and saw the creation of a board-certification program (1985), a critically-acclaimed Senate Hearing on Aging (1991), and the growth of music therapy from a few dozen practitioners to thousands. *photo of Hospital Music Newsletter courtesy of National Music Council.National Association for Music Therapy♪(https://www.musictherapy.org/about/history/)

Analytical music therapy is the type of music therapy that encourages the user to use an improvised musical dialogue, through singing or playing an instrument to express one’s unconscious thoughts, which can then be discussed by the therapists afterwards.

Analytical Music Therapy (AMT) model was largely developed by the British music therapist Mary Priestly (1975, 1994, 2012) whose trainees took aspects of the model into academic music therapy programs in europe.[1]

AMT was acknowledged and honored as one of five international models of music therapy practice at the 1999 world congress of Music Therapy..[1](https://www.academia.edu/25933944/Analytical_Music_Therapy_Bringing_Unconscious_Alive?auto=download)

Mary Priestley demonstrated the potency of the clinically directed use of music in effecting change at the most fundamental level of one’s personality. She established the viability of music therapy as a primary psychotherapeutic treatment form, not merely as an adjunct to verbal psychotherapy. (https://www.academia.edu/25933944/Analytical_Music_Therapy_Bringing_Unconscious_Alive?auto=download)

Although aspects of gaining insight into one’s emotion are important in this approach, music plays a central role. Priestle thinks as she considers music an important factor to human life “as is digestion or breathing or sleeping” 

The two functions of music as per priestly are to act akin to a nodal point and a sympathetic string. In these ways, as per priestly, a psychoanalytic perspective could still place music in a central role[(https://www.academia.edu/25933944/Analytical_Music_Therapy_Bringing_Unconscious_Alive?auto=download)

AMT was first developed in adult psychiatry; it has proven to be sufficiently malleable to be applicable in other areas including medical settings, work with children, and in contemporary therapy climate.[.(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08098131.2021.1904667)[(https://www.academia.edu/25933944/Analytical_Music_Therapy_Bringing_Unconscious_Alive?auto=download)

Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) is the therapeutic use of music applied to sensory, speech and language, cognitive, and motor dysfunctions after a neurologic event or diagnosis. The therapy is based on neuroscience research on how music is processed and perceived in the brain, and how we can use that as a tool in neurorehabilitation to improve non-musical goals. We know from this research that being actively or passively engaged in music-making accesses and stimulates multiple areas of the brain bilaterally. Engaging in music has been shown to facilitate neuroplasticity, therefore positively influencing quality of life and overall functioning.
Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) is an evidence based treatment that uses standardized, research based techniques that are used to treat the brain via specific elements of music (rhythm, melody, tempo, dynamic, etc) Neurologic Music Therapy (NIMT)♪(https://www.biausa.org/public-affairs/media/neurologic-music-therapy-in-neurorehabilitation)

Research Indicates that rhythm and music are able to prime motor, cognition, and speech and do so at a subconscious level. Music can help to build neural pathways ( new connections in the brain), thus an increment in brain function, productivity and functional life is observed.

NMT cognitive treatment areas include attention, arousal, auditory perception, spatial neglect, executive functioning, and memory. Within these interventions, music provides stimulation and structure to the brain, introduces timing, grouping, and synchronization for better organization, and recruits parallel brain systems. Speech and language treatment areas of NMT include expressive aphasia, fluency, prosody, apraxia, vocalization, coordination, volume, breath and oral motor control, respiratory strength, dysarthria, articulation, intelligibility, and comprehension. Speech and singing share neural systems, which means that we can use music and singing to positively impact many speech and language goal areas. NMT motor treatment areas include rehabilitation of gait as well as fine and gross motor movements including strength, endurance, balance, range of motion, coordination, and dexterity. (https://www.biausa.org/public-affairs/media/neurologic-music-therapy-in-neurorehabilitation) By using auditory rhythm to facilitate entrainment, we see an improvement in motor control! We use the therapeutic application and spatial placement of musical instruments to accomplish these goals. This type of treatment is growing rapidly, and is quickly becoming an integrated therapy in neurorehabilitation across the country. Just like other therapeutic disciplines, NMT provides specific, individualized, and standardized interventions to treat primary goal areas. We also work closely alongside PT, OT, and SLP to provide the highest quality of care to patients in neurorehabilitation. Other disciplines are welcome to complete the NMT training and incorporate aspects of this work into their care within their scope of practice (https://www.biausa.org/public-affairs/media/neurologic-music-therapy-in-neurorehabilitation)

The techniques used are categorized into three domains: sensorimotor training, speech and language training, and cognitive training, addressing specific goal areas and impairments in each domain. Each technique is evidence-based and standardized and provides a specific intervention that is individualized for each person according to their ability and needs. https://neurolinks.ie/our-services/neurologic-music-therapy/)

SENATOR GABBY GIFFORS, US congresswoman was able to recover language and relearn to walk following her gunshot wound to the head in 2011. 
Role of Music Therapy in the recovery of Senator Gabby Giffors♪

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JguBqtRaQ0

Neurologic Music therapy can provide improvement in cognition for the following : 

NMT helps to reverse damage done through a series of specialized interventions including Musical speech Stimulation and Melodic intonation therapy. Some common injuries and diseases associated with loss of speech and language include: aPHASIA, Stroke, and Apraxia.

Research Indicates that NMT can provide improved outcomes for movement in a range of categories, including Gait training. 

Each Session (Generally 60 minutes) of NMT is different depending on goals, and they may involve singing, walking to live music, playing a musical instrument, using handbells, etc.

Developmental Music Therapy (DMT) is a model that underpins music therapy practice with multiple client groups. The resonances of DMT can be found whenever music therapists use any or all of their understanding of developmental stages, family context, past experiences etc

Some benefits of DMT : 

DMT is recommended for : 

Developmental music therapy provides the integration of multiple theoretical perspectives through which practitioners and researchers seek to understand the context in which the challenges faced by the client and their family or social network are experienced and enacted. The model draws on three main theoretical orientations: (1) Theories of stress, coping, and adaption; (2) Human lifespan development including stage models; (3) Ecological perspectives such as Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of development, along with cultural and family theories. DMT can be described as eclectic and opportunistic in terms of its wider theoretical breadth Developmental Music Therapy♪(https://rune.une.edu.au/web/handle/1959.11/28024)

Also note that DMT is a multidisciplinary approach (collaborates with other professionals)

Receptive music therapy is the Passive engagement to pre-recorded or live music. RMT can provide a nonverbal communication and expression, for privacy concerns of the clients and music may be used as a medium for emotional expression, connection and validation.

The therapists play a crucial role in receptive music therapy by selecting the appropriate elements for music which would revolve around the client’s need, preferences, and therapeutic goals.

Methods of RMT include:

Research indicates that receptive music therapy can reduce agitation, behavioral problems, and anxiety symptoms in older adults with dementia, and appears to be better than interactive music therapy. RMT is more passive in its approach and can be more implementable and less costly than that of other forms of music therapy. https://visual-acoustic.com/exp/methods-of-receptive-music-therapy

RMT is often advised to be applied in nursing homes, day care centers, and client homes.

Re-creative music therapy is the form of Music therapy in which the user has to recreate the music played by the therapist. THe client can sing the lyrics or recreate the instrumentals. It is a method praised for tuning motor skills, making it perfect for users struggling with developmental issues. This includes patients with dementia and children with movement disorders. Recreative Music Therapy for patients with dementia♪(https://www.bettersleep.com/blog/music-therapy-for-mental-health/#:~:text=Recreative%20music%20therapy%20is%20a,or%20simply%20listen%20to%20music.)

There can be either group or individual sessions in the re-creative music therapy, based on user preferences. Group sessions can be useful for peer support, collaborative music making and social interaction while an individual session allows for more focused attention and personalized therapeutic interventions 

Re creative Music therapy journey, like most forms of music therapies, has to be documented, assessed and evaluated with the ongoing progress of the user.Cognitive Treatment Areas♪(https://www.bettersleep.com/blog/music-therapy-for-mental-health/#:~:text=Recreative%20music%20therapy%20is%20a,or%20simply%20listen%20to%20music.)

The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) is a music-centered depth approach to transformational therapy that uses selected sequences of classical music to support the generation of and movement through inner experiences. In GIM, the music serves as a catalyst and container for imagery that allows one to access and explore both the depths and the heights of the human experience.The Bonny Method♪(https://music.appstate.edu/academics/special-programs/bonny-method)

Listening to music the GIM way may serve to awaken memories and associations as well as help maintain certain moods and emotions, thus reaching out to the human being in a variety of manners. The structure of the music may form a supporting framework, encapsulating the broad spectrum of experiences that may happen during GIM

One does not need any intimate knowledge of or special expertise in classical music to benefit from GIM. Music listening of this kind has proven to be effective both as long-term and short-term therapy as the music itself forms a safe as well as an esthetical framework for any psychological changing processes: among others through an increased access to personal creative resources. GIM therapy applies Western classical music, with a repertoire reaching from the baroque to the 20th century. The sessions are designed as programs of about 30 to 45 minutes duration..(https://music.appstate.edu/academics/special-programs/bonny-method)

Music has a rich history of being used as a tool for social advocacy and change. Artists from marginalized communities often use music to shed light on social issues , challenge injustices, and inspire collective action. By addressing topics such as racial inequality, gender discrimination, and LGBTQ+ rights, music becomes a powerful medium for advocating for social justice and promoting inclusivity. Through music, individuals can express their unique experiences, struggles, and triumphs, forging connections with others who share similar backgrounds. Research has shown that exposure to diverse musical genres and artists can broaden perspectives, challenge stereotypes, and foster empathy among listeners especially when dancing together.

Genres such as hip-hop, reggae, jazz, blues, rhythm & blues and folk have historically served as platforms for marginalized voices, enabling them to reclaim their narratives and challenge societal norms. The impact of socially conscious music has been observed in movements such as civil rights, feminism, and LGBTQ+ rights, where songs have played a pivotal role in mobilizing communities and effecting change. Music artists who engage in activism can reach new supporters and help their fans feel more connected to issues and motivated to participate.

Music may both motivate and provide a sense of distraction as rhythmic stimuli has been found to balance training for those with brain injury.

Singing is a form of rehabilitation for neurological impairments. Singing training has been found to improve speech clarity and coordination of speech muscles, accelerating rehabilitation of neurological impairments. Music therapy is widely used in the following disorders : 

The integration of music therapy and virtual imagination indicates a synergistic approach to holistic healing. By combining the therapeutic properties of music with the Mark-I’s practitioners can create tailored experiences that may engage multiple senses and facilitate profound therapeutic outcomes.

Many historically excluded groups, such as racial/ethnic and sexual minorities and people with disabilities, face systemic injustices and traumatic experiences that can deeply impact their mental health. Research supports the idea that discrimination, a type of trauma, increases risk for mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Music therapy has shown promise in providing a safe and supportive environment for healing trauma and building resilience while decreasing anxiety levels and improving the functioning of depressed individuals. Music therapy is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention using music to accomplish health and education goals, such as improving mental wellness, reducing stress and alleviating pain. Music therapy is offered in settings such as schools and hospitals. Research supports that engaging in music-making activities, such as drumming circles, songwriting, or group singing, can facilitate emotional release, promote self-reflection, and create a sense of community.

"Music therapy helps speech, but also motor skills, memory and balance. Also emotionally uplifting."

"Music therapy, to me, is music performance without the ego. It’s not about entertainment as much as its about empathizing. If you can use music to slip past the pain and gather insight into the workings of someone else’s mind, you can begin to fix a problem. "

"When we look at the body of evidence that the arts contribute to our society, it's absolutely astounding. Music Therapists are breaking down the walls of silence and affliction of autism, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease."

"Simply put, music can heal people."

"Music helps all types of people to remain forever young." He noted that Congress had never before "directly addressed the question of music" as preventive medicine and as "a therapeutic tool for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, strokes and depression."

"Music therapy is much more complicated than playing records in nursing homes. Therapists are trained in psychology, group interaction, and the special needs of the elderly."

"(Rhythm) is there in the cycles of the seasons, in the migrations of the birds and animals, in the fruiting and withering of plants, and in the birth, maturation and death of ourselves," Hart told a Senate panel studying music therapy.

"Before I had surgery, they told me I could never walk again. But when I sat and listened to music, I forgot all about the pain," said Goldman, who walked with assistance during the hearing.

Dr. Sacks reports that patients with neurological disorders who cannot talk or move are often able to sing, and sometimes even dance, to music. Its advocates say music therapy also can help ease the trauma of grieving, lessen depression and provide an outlet for people who are otherwise withdrawn.   ST. Louis Post Dispatch.

"I regard music therapy as a tool of great power in many neurological disorders -- Parkinson's and Alzheimer's -- because of its unique capacity to organize or reorganize cerebral function when it has been damaged."

"Almost all children respond to music. Music is an open-sesame, and if you can use it carefully and appropriately, you can reach into that child's potential for development." Nordoff-Robbins uses music therapy to help 100 handicapped children learn and to relate and communicate with others.

"(Music therapy) can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and interaction, between chronic pain and comfort -- between demoralization and dignity."

"Music therapy has been an invaluable tool with many of our rehabilitation patients. There is no question that the relationship of music and medicine will blossom because of the advent of previously unavailable techniques that can now show the effects of music."

"I would teach children music, physics and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning."

[1] Full article: The inner music of analytical music therapy

[2][https://www.academia.edu/25933944/Analytical_Music_Therapy_Bringing_Unconscious_Alive?auto=download](https://www.academia.edu/25933944/Analytical_Music_Therapy_Bringing_Unconscious_Alive?auto=download)

[3] Effect of Music Therapy on Sleep Quality

[4] Music therapy and autism | Raising Children Network

[5] The healing power of music for stroke survivors | American Heart Association

[6][Music therapy improves well-being in people with dementia and caregivers](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/music-therapy-improves-well-being-in-people-with-dementia-and-caregivers)

[7][Music after brain injury | Headway](https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/brain-injury-and-me/music-after-brain-injury/#:~:text=Following%20brain%20injury%2C%20music%20can,role%20in%20recovery%20and%20rehabilitation.)

[8][Music therapy and cancer](https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/music#:~:text=Listening%20to%20music%20can%20be,them%20to%20cooperate%20and%20communicate.)

[9] Music Therapy for Parkinson’s disease

[10][Music Therapy for Pain Management](https://www.musictherapy.org/assets/1/7/FactSheet_Music_Therapy_for_Pain_Management_2021_4-22update.pdf)

[11][Music Therapy and Addiction Treatment](https://www.musictherapy.org/assets/1/7/FactSheet_Music_Therapy_and_Addiction_Treatment_2021.pdf)

[12][Role and efficacy of music therapy in learning disability: a systematic review | The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology](https://ejo.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s43163-021-00091-z)

[13] The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music

[14][Music Therapy for Mental Health | BetterSleep](https://www.bettersleep.com/blog/music-therapy-for-mental-health/#:~:text=Recreative%20music%20therapy%20is%20a,or%20simply%20listen%20to%20music.)

[15][History of Music Therapy](https://www.musictherapy.org/about/history/)

Facilitates neurorehabilitationNeurologic Music Therapy in Neurorehabilitation - Brain Injury Association of America

[17][Neurologic Music Therapy – Neurolinks](https://neurolinks.ie/our-services/neurologic-music-therapy/)

[18] Methods of Receptive Music Therapy | VISUAL ACOUSTIC EXPERIENCE

[19] Developmental Music Therapy | Research UNE

Music Therapy - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

Effectiveness of music therapy: A summary of systematic reviews based on randomized controlled trials of music interventions
'Music releases endorphins.'♪
'Reduces stress effectively.'♪
'Improves quality of life.'♪
'Personalized therapy sessions.'♪
'Feedback-driven progress journaling.'♪
'Custom session lengths.'♪
'Includes singing and instruments.'♪
'Addresses anxiety disorders.'♪
'Helps autism spectrum disorders.'♪
'Beneficial for stroke recovery.'♪
'Effective for dementia.'♪
'Assists traumatic brain injuries.'♪
'Aids in managing anxiety.'♪
'Supports cancer patients.'♪
'Benefits Parkinson’s disease.'♪
'Manages chronic pain.'♪
'Assists substance use disorders.'♪
'Helps with learning disabilities.'♪
'Requires pre-therapy information.'♪
'Assesses social functioning.'♪
[[
'Reviews trauma history.'♪
'Identifies trauma triggers.'♪
'Monitors emotional well-being.'♪

'Rooted in military recovery.'♪
'Technical Bulletin 187.'♪
'Recovery in Army hospitals.'♪
'Early music therapy studies.'♪
'Margaret Anderton’s course.'♪
'1919 Columbia University.'♪
'War-wounded Canadian soldiers.'♪
'Music in World War II.'♪
'Ira Altshuler’s contributions.'♪
'Willem van de Wall’s text.'♪
'E. Thayer Gaston’s influence.'♪
'Organizational advancements.'♪
'First music therapy programs.'♪
NAMT establishment in 1950.♪
'Board-certification program.'♪
'Senate Hearing on Aging.'♪
'Growth of music therapy.'♪
'Analytical Music Therapy (AMT).'♪
'Encourages musical dialogue.'♪
'Improvised therapy sessions.'♪
'Mary Priestley’s contributions.'♪
'British music therapy model.'♪
'Recognized international model.'♪
'Primary psychotherapeutic treatment.'♪
'Music’s central role.'♪
'Psychological insights through music.'♪
'Broad applicability of AMT.'♪
'Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT).'♪
'Therapeutic use of music.'♪
'Applied to neurologic dysfunctions.'♪
'Based on neuroscience research.'♪
'Enhances neuroplasticity.'♪
'Facilitates neurorehabilitation.'♪
'Rhythm primes motor functions.'♪

'Speech and language interventions.'♪
'Motor treatment areas.'♪
'Sensorimotor training.'♪

'Cognitive training domains.'♪
'Individualized interventions.'♪
'Speech and singing connections.'♪