From The Desk of Editor

Volume 8 Issue 4 April, 2018

MUSIC THERAPY

Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. Music therapy can involve playing music, singing, creating music, moving to music, listening to music, or teaching a person to play music.

Goodman has identified three phases that describe the healing ability of music – magical, religious and scientific healing. The scientific phase started with Greek philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle and Plato. Traditional systems of healing in India such as Ayurveda and Yoga systems include various musical treatment approaches. Human nervous system processes music in different ways – perceptual, emotional, autonomic, cognitive and behavioral or motor
processing. Dopamine, endorphins and nor-epinephrine are involved in neurochemistry of music.

Broadly two basic types of music therapy are described – active and receptive. In the active form, the client makes music either alone or with a therapist or within a group, whereas in the receptive form the client is made to listen to music, exclusively. Most common approach used in the Indian form of music therapy is the “raga-based approach.” It basically involves the application of musical pieces focusing on the swara patterns. This approach is found to be
stimulating, anxiolytic and sedative.

There is evidence for benefit of music in people with insomnia. Many studies reported reductions in symptoms of depression among those randomized to music therapy in combination with psychotherapy. In a recent study in patients with schizophrenia found that the experimental group that received music therapy showed significantly higher improvement in positive symptoms, negative symptoms, general psychopathology scores and quality-of-life.

The advantage of music therapy is that it creates an alternate mode of communication to patients who have limited ability to speak and understand language. Music therapy for people with dementia can reduce anxiety, depression and agitated behavior. Substance use disorders and music therapy-studies are going on with positive note.

Studies have been done on children with autism and intellectual disability. The results showed a significant positive effect on communication skills and only marginal effect on behavioral problems. Children with specific reading disability receiving music therapy improved significantly on word decoding, word knowledge, reading comprehension and the test total.

Music therapy has various applications in the field of medicine especially in psychiatry.

There is a need for further studies in India.