Just a couple of gentle strums of ukulele music can immediately transport us to a spot of calm. This mysterious effect is one reason board-certified music therapist Lori Kubicek helps many patients use an easy-to-play instrument after being diagnosed with cancer or one other major health condition.
But music therapy is greater than a nice diversion, an example of how the art and science of medication can work together. With ancient roots — the Chinese role for medicine includes the role of music — the approach also helped rehabilitate the minds, bodies, and spirits of World War II veterans.
Through personally tailored music interventions corresponding to singing, songwriting, playing an instrument, listening to music, or walking to a beat, music therapy strikes a chord in lots of areas of medication. Evidence is increasingly showing that it helps people higher manage disease symptoms and treatment negative effects by reducing stress, relieving pain, promoting sleep, and improving concentration. Help is out there.
“Music connects you to a part of yourself that's good, and that's true no matter what patient population we're working with,” Kubicek says. “The music remains, no matter the challenges a person faces.”
Personal approach
Music therapy shouldn't be the identical thing as music medicine, during which patients simply wear headphones and hearken to their favorite music for leisure or distraction during medical treatment. No musical background or experience is required to participate or profit from it.
Therapy begins with a one-on-one assessment with a music therapist to find out how every person pertains to music and what issues they might be experiencing. “We combine this information with evidence-based interventions to help patients feel, cope, or heal as quickly as possible,” Kubicek says. “We understand how music can help you move toward your goals in a way that sets you up for success.”
Based on many years of research, recent studies show that the sort of intervention can provide significant relief by reducing anxiety during medical treatment, in accordance with a research review published in 2021. Psychological research.
“We see this all the time,” she says. “Because of music's connection to the limbic system in the brain, it can help you access the relaxation response and calm your nervous system, which slows down your breathing. It's really you. “Helps take the mind off what it's stuck on or fearful about and helps you land within the moment you're in.”
People with Alzheimer's disease were the main focus of a research review published online in March 2023. Alzheimer's Research and Therapywhich suggested that music therapy improved memory, attention and orientation in these patients. And for individuals with mental illnesses like depression, Kubicek says, music therapy can “bring energy and happiness back to the darkest times in people's lives. It's also really beautiful to see how music can help people of all ages and backgrounds.” Can connect people of various backgrounds, cognitive abilities, and cultures.”
Drawing advantages
Regardless of diagnosis, so long as you are feeling connected to music, music therapy can hit the appropriate notes. “You don't have to be a musician. You just have to love music and it has to be something you want to develop or nurture,” she says.
You don't even must wait in your doctor to recommend music therapy. Ask her or him – or your local hospital or clinic – to refer you to a program. “If you have a specific diagnosis, you can always ask your health care team,” Kubicek says. You may also discover a music therapist near you. American Music Therapy Association.
To maximize the advantages of therapy, discover a balance between taking risks and staying in your comfort zone, advises Kubicek. “When we're exploring music, often we're trying something new for the first time,” she says. “Find that 'stretch zone,' because you don't know the full impact of what music can do for you until you try.”
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