Therapy is a natural treatment intended to relieve or heal a disease or disorder by a remedial or rehabilitating process that has been around for hundreds of years. The ways in which therapy is used is constantly evolving and improving the lives of those in need. There are all different forms of therapy including counselling, psychotherapy, and interpersonal therapy behavioral activation to name a few. Music therapy, a type of musical healing and a somewhat new form of treatment, has been becoming more popular over the last few years and is proving itself as an effective form of natural remedy for various diseases and disorders. Alzheimer’s and Autism are among the fastest growing diseases today. Many families and individuals have trouble dealing with these diseases and their symptoms. These families go through a lot and try many different forms of treatment. Chronic pain is also something that many people struggle to treat. Past studies and research seems to suggest that music therapy is the most beneficial, but under-utilized form of therapy for patients with Autism, Alzheimer’s and chronic pain. The unique healing approach music therapy has, impresses those who encounter it. 

Whether driving to the grocery store, relaxing by the pool or even at the doctor’s office, music is always involved; it is inescapable. Music is a huge part of everyone’s daily life and many people use it as a tool of some sort, whether they realize it or not. People jam out to their favorite song in the car after a long day at work, listen to slow, calming music while reading a good book. Everyone has a different preference in music and many people use it to express their emotions. But what if music had a power beyond entertainment or brining joy to someone? What if it had the power to heal someone with a harsh disease that seemed hopeless to overcome? Psychologist, Clive Robbins, said, “Music motivates kids who do not communicate to somehow make contact” (Barron); he is referring to people with Autism. Music therapist, Louise Lynch, said, “Music is very often the only thing that older demented adults will respond to” (Weiss); referring to the unfortunate elderly with Alzheimer’s disease. And another music therapist, Sedei-Godley, said, “The music helps bring down stress reactions. It lowers tensions in the forehead so your headache is relieved, for example, and lowers muscular tension so your back pain becomes less severe” (Barron); referring to people with chronic pain. When someone hears “music therapy” they do not think of it as a powerful form of therapy. People often think it is “just another form of therapy involving music”. But it is much more than that; there are so many different ways music therapy can be put into play and become a powerful tool, and more so than other forms of therapy.

In today’s world, many people have a problem with using any type of drug to help them with a sickness or disease or pain; they would rather seek a natural remedy. Music therapy is one of those natural remedies that really takes no talent or tools at all to use, but many people overlook. People can make music themselves or find it pretty much anywhere they turn. Amy Novotney, the author of, Music as Medicine, said, “Listening to music was also found to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety before surgery” (Novotney). People all over the world are starting to realize how effective music therapy can really be and how underutilized it is. There is no secret formula to what song a patient should listen to in their session, but there is some thought that goes into picking a song that will benefit the client to the greatest potential. Music therapists might pick a song to spark a certain emotion or spark a specific memory. They might choose a song that everyone can relate to or that everyone seems to like, such as the song, “You Are My Sunshine”. For someone with Autism, a song with rhythm or a more calming song might be the way to go. An Alzheimer’s patient might want to hear a song that relates to their past. For example, an ex baseball player might like to hear, “Take Me Out to The Ballgame” to bring them back to their youth. And a patient with chronic pain might like to listen to a song a little more relaxing like, “Blackbird” by The Beatles. All of these songs helps each patient in a different way to express themselves or to relieve pain, or even to put their focus somewhere else. The song choice in any session is just as important as a medication being prescribed to a patient with a certain illness. The wrong song could potentially set off a patient in the wrong way just as a wrong prescription could be bad for a patient who does not need it.

The reason why music therapy works so well is because of the emotional attachment that human beings have for music. Unlike other forms of therapy, music makes the patient more connected to their inner thoughts and to themselves (Ulbricht). Some people may even go as far to say, “music moves us”. Kenneth Aigen, the author of “Music-centered Music Therapy” mentions that music essentially wakes up a person’s sense of self (Aigen). Music is a tool we use to interact with our deeper selves as well as people around us. Aigen says, “When a person (such as an autistic child) can perceive the force, this can create a template for interaction between purposive beings where none existed previously.” Life is experienced through interactions just as we interact with music (Aigen). Not only does music help someone with a certain disease, but it even helps improve the moods of patients. This separates music therapy from other forms of therapy. It does not only help the patients with their sickness but it continues on afterwards and makes the lives of the patients a lot better (Turner).  Patients with severe diseases, like the ones mentioned, are often overcome with depression or anxiety because of their diseases (Turner). Music helps to increase their positivity with dealing with their disease and makes each day a little better. 

There is little to no limit to who can benefit from music therapy; other forms of therapy, are often confined to a certain group with a single quality. From World War II veterans, mothers in labor, people with severe depression or anxiety, patients with insomnia, etc. (Turner). Everyone uses music as a tool for a different reason and to achieve different goals. Someone might use music to improve their attention span or communication while someone else might use it for pain management or to revamp their motor skills. Some people even use it to strengthen their learning and memory (Turner). Different from other forms of therapy, music therapy has a wide variety of implications. From helping to improve physical, to mental health; it is more powerful than other forms of therapy especially when treating Autism, Alzheimer’s and chronic pain. Sometimes people do not realize how powerful music actually is because it is used as entertainment for most people; but music has so many powers, it is almost impossible to keep up with. 

One disorder that music therapy seems to be extremely effective on but underutilized is Autism. A child, or person, with Autism has difficulty communicating with others and forming relationships with other people. They can also have trouble with language and even understanding difficult concepts. Music therapy enables these children to engage with one another. It can increase their social interactions to help improve their social skills (De Vivo). Other forms of therapy like behavioral therapy or counselling do not have the same effect because they do not allow the patient to interact with others at the same time they are interacting within themselves (De Vivo). How music therapy is used with children with Autism is different from how it is used with other disorders and diseases. A therapy session with a child with Autism will most likely include playing an actual instruments and is usually in a group setting. This increases interactions between the children helping them with their communication skills which other forms of therapy do not do. Not only does music therapy help these children with communication but it helps them with their behavior as well. Children with Autism usually have trouble with controlling their aggression and are restless. A study in 2012 found that weekly music therapy sessions drastically improved these behaviors (De Vivo). Another characteristic of Autism is anxiety. A study at the University of Wisconsin showed that listening to calm rhythmic music reduced anxiety-related behaviors (De Vivo).  The uniqueness of music therapy has a distinct effect on children with Autism that seems to improve the mind and well-being of patients. 

Waldo is a young boy with Autism who has shown the world that the practice of music therapy does work magic (Kaplan). Within the first few sessions with a music therapist, Waldo’s attention got better and his bad behaviors decreased. Not only has music therapy helped Waldo with his physical actions but it has improved his speech and communication skills as well. Waldo seems happier and less anxious after his sessions and it is benefiting his life as well as his family’s life (Kaplan). Before music therapy, Waldo tried many different forms of therapy and treatments but nothing seemed to help him. After his first couple of sessions Waldo was a whole new person (Kaplan).  Like Waldo, Jodi, a young girl with Autism, also has greatly benefited from music therapy and music in general. Jodi’s unconditional love for music was so big that even singer Katy Perry recognized it and invited her to perform one of her songs with her. Jodi has become an Autism advocate through her love for music and has continuously shown how much music can help someone with Autism (Comedy central). Music therapy is especially effective on children who have a passion for music because most children do not seem to be interested in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Psychotherapy which makes them less engaged in their sessions.

Patients with Alzheimer’s seem to benefit greatly from the presence of music therapy as well. Many studies have shown music therapy reduces symptoms of the disease, improve the moods of patients, reduce aggressive behavior and in some cases even bring back distant memories (Ulbricht). Because listening to music does not require cognitive functioning, people with this disease can engage in music late into the disease (Claire). Music is closely related to one’s memory; most people associate a certain song with a past experience or often times a person (Claire).  Other forms of therapy do not allow a patient to be in touch with their memory which is the most important part for patients with Alzheimer’s. When someone with Alzheimer’s listens to a song that has meaning to them, it often evokes a memory allowing the patient to respond to it (Weiss). Music even helps patients with Alzheimer’s to remember who they are. Louise Lynch, a music therapist once said, "Music is very often the only thing that older demented adults will respond to… They can remember the words to songs even when they can't remember if they've eaten lunch today" (Weiss). Often times, even after the music therapy session is over, the effects will continue and the patients will be in the present for a while.

Henry Dryer is a patient who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease but also someone who has had the opportunity to improve their life with the help of music therapy. Henry is just one of many examples of patients who have benefited from music therapy. After Henry had some time to listen to his favorite songs, he was “brought back to life” (Mossie). In Henry’s words, “It gives me the feeling of love, romance!”. Henry’s response to music gives hope to family members dealing with Alzheimer’s as well as doctors and nurses dealing with patients with Alzheimer’s (Mossie). Henry was featured in a documentary about Alzheimer’s called “Alive Inside”. The look on his face when he is listening to music shows how much music helps patients with Alzheimer’s (Mossie). Music therapy allowed Henry to remember again. Any other form of therapy would be too much for Henry to handle since he is too far into his disease. 

Although there have been many studies on music therapy helping to treat psychological disorders, there has been a growing number of studies on music therapy helping physical health as well. Not many people have started to use music therapy for physical health because there has not been enough evidence of it actually working. But as more research and studies come out, people realize how beneficial it can be even on people with chronic pain. Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain”. Cancer patients, patients with arthritis or migraine headaches, and patients with chronic pain from a past surgery can all benefit from music therapy, too. Listening to music often helps people relax which can help relieve pain in patients. Other forms of therapy require you to think and engage in the session, but in a music therapy session, it allows you to just be still and relax. Music also helps patients let go of tension by lowering stress levels (Barron). This helps patients with a headache or back pain have a less severe pain (Barron). A study at California State University found that music therapy was more effective in patients with severe migraines than biofeedback, process whereby electronic monitoring of a normally automatic bodily function is used to train someone to acquire voluntary control of that function (Barron). Even the pain of labor can be eased through the use of music therapy. Slow, soothing music was chosen in the beginning to relax the women in labor while upbeat music was played later on to speed up the process. The music played throughout labor takes the woman’s mind off the pain and focuses on the sound of the music (Barron). Not any therapy session could be brought to a hospital room and that is what makes music therapy special and many people would not even think of this.

Jo, a woman in her mid 50’s with chronic back pain thought that she would have to take high dosages of pain medication for the rest of her life (Stories). She was hopeless, like many people with chronic pain of any type. One session of music therapy and Jo saw the light at the end of the tunnel. She finally found something that worked for her. Jo became relaxed during the session and her pain decreased greatly (Stories). Jo’s story gives other people with chronic pain hope; it gives them an alternative to drugs and a more natural way to treat their pain.

Although there are many people who do believe in the power of music therapy, there are some disbelievers, as with anything. Steve Swayne, a professor in music, neuroscience and ethics, and the author of an article, “The Dangers of Overestimating Music Therapy”, says “It's comforting to believe that songs can help dementia patients recall their lost selves. But music can also harm as much as it helps, creating false memories, confusion, and distress” (Swayne). Swayne says that when a patient with Alzheimer’s hears a song, sometimes they cannot distinguish if they are thinking back on an actual memory or just making it up in their heads. Many times, patients who endure music therapy get anxiety because a certain song brings back a memory that they are confused by. The fact that patients with Alzheimer’s and even children with Autism sometimes cannot say whether or not they want to listen to music is not fair to the patient (Swayne). Sometimes the responses from patients who cannot verbally communicate may not be what they actually viewed to be. For example, a music therapist might mistake a response of sadness for a joyful response which could cause the patient to be uncomfortable and maybe even feel fear (Swayne). In other cases, music might cause more agitation than relief. For example, if someone with a brain injury were to listen to music, it might be too much stimulus for their brain to handle, which can be dangerous and hurt them rather than help them. These risks of music therapy can be scary for people involved, but everything in life has risks; sometimes the benefits out-weigh the risks. It is important to be aware of the uncertainties with music therapy, but at the same time it is important to have hope and be open minded about new things and think about how music therapy has a lot of benefits that other forms of therapy do not have.

Music therapy is an important tool that more people are coming to realize how beneficial it really is. It allows patients to explore feelings that they may have never felt while they are getting better at the same time that other forms of therapy do not allow patients to do. Music therapy expands horizons to people who are seeking a natural remedy or just a different medium to express themselves in. There are some things to be cautious about while utilizing this form of therapy but for the most part, people seem to benefit greatly from it and the stories of the power it has on people inspires others in similar situations.

Although music therapy will not cure Autism, Alzheimer’s or chronic pain, if people start to understand the endless benefits of it, and how to utilize it, it could change the treatment process for these diseases. While music therapy is proven to be successful in treating many patients, it is still a growing field with unanswered questions. Its uniqueness continues to open the eyes of the skeptical and inspire those who experience it. Music therapy is transforming into an important tool in the medical world and is the most beneficial form of therapy.  
