The Power of Music Therapy

Think about your favourite piece of music. Consider the reasons why you like it so much. Ponder the emotions that it elicits. Think of the associations it has. Does it remind you of a particular person? A period of time? Whether or not you consider yourself to be a person that “likes” music, there’s no denying that it has the potential to bring about a strong emotional response. In that case, it only makes sense that Music Therapy could be an incredibly powerful therapeutic medium.

Music therapy is defined as “the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.” Not to be confused with sound therapy, music therapy makes use of arranged pieces of music and their emotional power/associations rather than certain frequencies to help with soothing, processing issues and facilitating a sense of  greater emotional wellbeing.

It is often difficult to articulate our feelings – human emotion is not easily quantifiable. Music transcends words to allow a medium of expression that is more abstract than traditional talk therapy. Beyond helping to process emotional issues, music therapy is helpful in treating learning or physical disabilities, developmental disorders, neurological conditions or physical illnesses. There has been extensive research into the effectiveness of this practice in treating dementia and alzheimers. Incredibly, specific songs from the patients’ past are able to bring back memories due to the strong neurological pathways created by certain pieces of music.

By no means do you have to be a musician or able to play an instrument to engage in this practice. No matter your familiarity with music or skill level, creating your own musical language and form of expression is fundamental to the treatment process. You are in control of your own musical expression in an entirely judgement free space where you are offered an opportunity for artistic catharsis.

Music therapy may be particularly helpful to you if you struggle to express your feelings using language, which is often insufficient. It is ubiquitously effective as music is a universal language – no matter what age you are, what your background is or what you’re going through, everybody can understand music. The healing power of music is proven – try to utilise it in the comfort of your own company, or consider seeing a professional to guide you through the process.