WHO BENEFITS?

"Anyone who enjoys music can participate including “children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and other aging related conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities, and acute and chronic pain, including mothers in labor.”            -AMTA

Research has shown that Music Therapy can be significantly successful with the following:

l     Acute and chronic pain
l     Alzheimer's disease
l     Brain injury patients
l     Developmentally disabled children and adults (including Autism,
            Cornelia deLange Syndrome, Down Syndrome and Rett Syndrome)
l     Medical patients
l     Parkinson's disease
l     Substance abuse patients  

Music Therapy can be conducted in both an individual and group setting.

   Do I have to know how to play an instrument in order to participate in music therapy?

         You don't have to know how to play an instrument or how to read music to participate in Music Therapy. All you                   need is the ability to enjoy music!

    How does Music Therapy work with specific populations?

  • For people with Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias - Research in the area of Music Therapy with Dementia populations shows that Music Therapy is an effective intervention for maintaining and improving emotional and cognitive skills, as well as helping this population to overcome withdrawal, thereby improving social functioning.  Music Therapy also assists with decreasing behavioral problems associated with dementia. Music, particularly familiar songs, has been shown to assist with unlocking memories that can assist with memory retention.
  • For people with Parkinson's Disease and other movement disorders - moving to music can help to improve gait, balance and range of motion. Dr. Oliver Sacks ("Awakenings") reports that patients with neurological disorders who cannot talk or move are often able to sing, and sometimes even dance, to music.
  • For people with Traumatic Injuries - music-assisted physical therapy can improve gross and fine motor functioning, coordination, and visual and auditory perception.
  • For people who have had a Stroke - musically assisted speech or singing activities can be used to treat non-fluent aphasia, one of the most common speech disorders following stroke.  Music Therapy has been medically and scientifically proven to be an effective tool in rehabilitation after a stroke in the areas of movement and muscle control, speech/communication, cognition, and mood. 
  • For people with Acute and Chronic Pain - music therapy can provide relief by inducing relaxation and reducing anxiety.
  • For people with Depression - musical activities can be used to connect to feelings, express thoughts, and overcome isolation.
  • For children with autism and other spectrum-related disorders - Research shows that most individuals with autism respond positively to music (DeMyer 1974; Edgerton, 1994; Euper, 1968; Snell, 1996; Thaut, 1992), so activities can be designed to facilitate and support the desire to communicate, break patterns of social withdrawal to assist the individual with engaging in external experiences, reduce echolalic responses that impede functional language use, decrease stereotypical behaviors and patterns, teach social skills, and facilitate increased language comprehension.
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