Depression may be one of the most devastating of all mental illnesses. Not only does it deplete a person’s outlook on their life, but it even inhibits them from properly living their life in complete happiness. Luckily, measures have been instituted to treat such a disease. Psychotherapy, anti-depressants, and counseling are all proven techniques to combat depression. However, a relatively newfound therapy has been researched by various neuroscientists. Musical Therapy is the incorporation of song to soothe a patient’s stress response such as heartbeat, breathing, and hormone levels. This treatment form is found to be most relatable with adolescents. According to the Journal of Humanistic Counseling, “Music techniques seem to be a potentially …show more content…
The human brain exhibits distinct brain areas that are activated by musical meter, tempo, and patter-melody (Mannes 32). When music is perceived by the ears, the brain interprets the music instantly and, due to PET and fMRI scans, views the input as complete instead of multiple parts of a whole (Mannes 29). Therefore, it is justified to believe that music does possess a capability of altering an individual’s perception and well-being. If music is absolutely processed by the complete brain, it is not beyond reason that music alone can impact mood. Philosopher Henry David Thoreau once said, “When I hear music, I fear no danger, I am invulnerable, I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times and to the latest.” Music plays with our emotions and great artists know how to implement the element of surprise in their works. A technique called syncopation is when a meter or melody is intentionally disrupted, usually with the intent to cause an emotional response from the audience. This technique impels the audience to become attached to the music because they can reminisce about how they felt during that particular moment. It is now embedded in their sense of self and being as long as they perceive the song to be meaningful. (Mannes 60) Elena Mannes, author of Power of Music, says, “We choose music-consciously and unconsciously to make us …show more content…
In order to compare the two, we must explore the different procedures that each form entails. Drug therapy includes the prescriptions of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications that mediate irregular hormone response during trigger situations. Musical therapy utilizes seven variations: 1. Gentle exercise to familiar and energetic music. 2. Progressive muscle relaxation done with eyes open to specially designed music interspersed with instructions from the therapist. 3. Special music used to help the individual create a structured plan for a positive action to solve a problem or improve a mood. 4. Slow and repetitive music used at home to enhance falling asleep. 5. The use of fast rhythmic music to enhance increased energy, especially used outside group sessions immediately before home study time. 6. Music listening in groups in conjunction with drawing. 7. Music listening in groups to pair positive experiences and memories to a particular song. The results of studies have shown that antidepressants reach a higher efficacy than musical therapy in moderate and severe cases of depression. However, musical therapy is comparable with drug therapy in mild cases (To Access). Numerous ethnic groups handle depression differently; just as they perceive music in a different
Music therapy works because of its three fundamentals: the application of systematic thinking through music theory, the creation of an individualized treatment plan, as well as the patie...
Interventions used in the treatment of mental disorder are divided into 3 levels and meet the various needs of the patient (MT and mental health book ch 3). The first level being supportive, activity oriented music therapy, the therapeutic focus is on the here and now, reactions, behaviors, skills, and is generally success-oriented and structured (MT and mental health book ch 4). Interventions would typically be small group ensembles, group singing, and drum circles. The second level is insight music therapy with re-educative goals, here the music is used to stimulate verbalization while gaining insight through discussion (MT and mental health book ch 5). Interventions at this level would include, lyric analysis or song discussion. The third level is insight music therapy with re-constructive goals, the experiences are used to uncover, relieve, or resolve conflicts at the subconscious level (MT and mental health book ch 6). Interventions used would be visualization to music, Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), and analytical music therapy. A session can have elements from each level, starting with an opening drumming activity/drum circle, transitioning into a lyric analysis/song discussion, visualizing of negative and positive feeling, and finally closing with another drumming activity. The questions used in the
B., Gfeller, K. E., & Thaut, M. H. (2008). An Introduction to Music Therapy: Theory and
Music is everywhere we go; we listen to it in the car, while doing work, and there are even people who pay to listen or watch an artist perform live. Yes, life goes on without music, but music has such an impact on our lives. Life is a rollercoaster of emotions and we have music to fit our emotions to be just as we feel. Music has a great deal of importance of many people. It can have a meaning that they cannot explain to others and are able to connect with the song. By doing so experts are able to help patients overcome many sicknesses with the help of music. Music therapy is capable of being an advantage for many individual patients, it can encourage responses from patients that other methods of therapy cannot get from them. Also, it improves the patients in distinctive ways other than for an illness.
It is true that music has a compact link to our emotions. Music assists people to overcome the bad situations in their life, just like it did for Sonny, the barmaid, or some other people in the Harlem. Music has a tremendous effect on people’s mind because it makes them feel relax and comfortable, especially the soft classical music. It helps distressed people to stay smooth and peaceful. In fact, music is a remarkable way to ease our stress.
In a summary of the article it describes how, “A therapist may be able to use music to help some patients fight depression and improve, restore and maintain their health. Therapeutic interventions included listening to music in groups, body movement and painting to music, and improvised singing.”(CFTAOF).
Introduction There are many studies that show how music therapy helps people with mood disorders. People with depression can benefit from music therapy because through music therapy, they can lessen the symptoms of depression. In the studies and cases that will be mentioned, we can see that music therapy is effective through methods like group therapy. It is shown that people with depression that go through music therapy are affected in a positive way. Overview of Mood Disorders Mood disorders are a class of behavioral-emotional disorders labeled as disruption in mood.
Kathi J., and Suzanne C. Danhauer. "Music As Therapy." Southern Medical Journal 98.3 (2005): 282-288. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 May 2014.
In order to understand why the use of music therapy is growing, one must know what exactly music therapy is. Music Therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. Music therapy also provides avenues for communicati...
There are many of types of counseling in the world that are used often and then there are few that are used not so often, just because it is called therapy does not mean that the person is just in a room laying on a couch and talking to someone who keeps asking the same question “and how does that make you feel.” like we see on the television, There are therapies other than just in a room talking to someone; There are some in which people can do exercise, children can play games, they could even do group activities, just because someone is in counseling does not mean that they are confined to four walls and a note pad. The forms of therapy which will be focused on are Art and Music therapy, starting with art.
The way in which music affects the human organism is complex. Attempts to explain the relationship between the organized sound which we call music and our responses to it fall into two broad classes, heteronomist theories and autonomist theories, although the boundaries between the two may be by no means watertight. That music causes a response in humans is undeniable, but does it do so by some form of direct appeal to our inner selves, our emotional sides, as the proponents of heteronomist theories argue, or, does it do so, as the autonomist argues, by virtue of some intrinsic property that it has within itself that is peculiar to music? Music cannot convey meaning or express emotion in the way that language conveys meaning or expresses emotion.
Music has become a great phenomenon in everyday life. People constantly listen to music without even realizing it. It has become a big role in society today. Yet not much research has gone into the study of music, and why it has a great impact on people. In many ways music can help find purpose in someone’s life. One thing is certain, music can evoke emotions, individuality, and social perception of a person.
Music therapy is the use of music and or musical elements by a qualified music therapist with a client or group in a process designed to facilitate and promote communication, relationships, learning, expression, organization and other relevant therapeutic objects in offer to meet physical, emotional, mental, social, and cognitive needs. There are many things that make music therapy. A few elements that contribute to music therapy are tone, rhythm, harmony, melody, and timbre. There are many reason as to why people try music therapy. A few would be coping with illness, managing problems, and overcoming impairments. When someone is thinking about music therapy the first step is getting a bachelor’s degree. There is also places that will let you
Music has a larger affect on feelings and emotions than most people realize. It is an automatic response for the human body to react to music in certain ways. Miller explains that “By the age of five, almost all healthy children have developed an unconscious framework for listening that will form the basis of their emotional response to music.” Sometimes the emotion that the music brings is very noticeable. For example, if someone is attempting to recover after the death of a loved one and they hear a song that reminds them of that person it can create different emotions quickly. The song could make that person remember the good ...
In ancient, it is very pervasive belief that music can actually produce emotion to the listeners. Music’s beneficial effects on mental health have been known for thousands of years. Ancient philosophers from Plato to Confucius and the kings of Israel sang the praises of music and used it to help soothe emotional stress. Many people say that they listen to music because it can make them feel comfortable, relax, happy and so on. In line with this emotion regulate through music is often considered as one of the most important function of music. The impact of music to our emotion is that creates awareness of our current emotional state, in contrary, music can evoke our feeling through its structural properties. Emotions are processed