Music Therapy Argumentative Essay

Music, is not the treatment most people would expect their doctor to recommend when they go an appointment. Music can be insignificant to some people, but to others it might be the solution for their illness. How you may ask? Well music can help people deal with mental illness such as depression, schizophrenia, dementia, and other mental illnesses. In the beginning I was skeptical on how music could help people dealing with such mental illness, but the more I looked into how music therapy worked and the effects it had on patients with such illness’s the more I believe that music in the form of therapy can help them improve their mental state.
Music therapy comes in many forms, sometimes music therapist will sing or play an instrument for their patient’s as they listen in other occasions the patient’s will sing or play along with the therapist. Other times they will listen to music in the music player. The form of therapy is chosen depending on what the patient likes and

How would that work you may ask? Well it’s not about curing depression, or at least there is no evidence that show’s that happening. But it can help people deal with depression. Mi Lim Im, and Jeong In Lee did a study to help them find out if music therapy could help elderly people with depressions and dementia. The results of this study help them understand that music can really help improve the mental state of people with depression. Im and Lee write, “Music brings out emotions in people, eventually leading to behavioral changes” (456-457). Music helps stimulate the brain which causes a reaction in people’s emotions, making them feel more alive, and this study proved that. It’s not about music changing the person state, is about the emotions produced by music helping them improve their mental state. But not only had they proved that the mental state of people with depression improved, but also with people with