Resources & references

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The purpose of our database is to provide an easy access to knowledge about music therapy and its application with a diverse array of clientele.  We therefore propose a selection of pertinent references, however not exhaustive, given that each week more research and other information are published around the world. 

Language
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25 results
Music Therapy May Help Teens Cope with Cancer
2014
Type of reference
General information
Author
Mary Brophy Marcus
Language
English
Source / Publisher
WebMD

  This article describes different techniques, interventions and outcomes of teens during cancer treatment. They describe how writing lyrics, making videos helped them get through grueling treatment and connect with others, study found.

Music-based interventions can improve stroke, Parkinson's Disease
2021
Type of reference
General information
Author
Emily Henderson
Language
English
Source / Publisher
News Medical, Life Sciences

 Article describes research findings of music therapy with individuals recovering from a stroke or who are managing Parkinson's disease. This article discusses the use of music therapy for neurorehabilitation

New institute for the promotion and support of music therapy
2021
Type of reference
General information
Author
Suzanne Caron
Language
French
Source / Publisher
Revue canadienne de musicothérapie (RCM)

After 35 years in the field of information technology followed by some time in politics, Suzanne Caron became a music therapist and founded the National Music Therapy Institute. Its mission is to raise awareness of and facilitate access to music therapy. A number of steps had to be completed before the dream of launching this Institute could become a reality —a process that demonstrated the importance of a determined, flexible, and creative approach. The COVID-19 pandemic— a tragedy in many respects—led the Institute to explore music therapy online for autistic people and family caregivers, and to develop training that would facilitate the transition for music therapists across Canada. The future looks promising for this Institute, whose story has yet to unfold.

New resource helps create intergenerational connections through music therapy
2021
Type of reference
General information
Language
English
Source / Publisher
Schlegel- UW Research Institute for Aging

This article describes the Intergenerational Jamboree music therapy intervention. The benefits for yound children and older adults are outlined, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. A complete guide is provided for music therapists who wish to implement the Jamboree in their community. 

New University of Limerick graduate using music therapy to treat chronic pain
2024
Type of reference
General information
Language
English
Source / Publisher
University of Limerick

An article about Katie Fitzpatrick, who has dedicated her education and career to music therapy and is blazing a trail in the treatment of chronic pain.

Researchers provide recommendations for understanding music therapy's impact on chronic pain
2024
Type of reference
General information
Language
English
Source / Publisher
Medical Xpress

This article provides recommendations for music therapy practice and research among individuals with chronic pain using sickle cell disease as an exemplar condition. The research on music therapy for chronic pain management has shown that music therapy is particularly helpful in improving people's pain-related self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is well recognized to play an essential role in effective management of chronic pain.

Singing to preterm infants during kangaroo care boosts maternal wellbeing
2020
Type of reference
General information
Author
Emily Henderson
Language
English
Source / Publisher
News Medical, Life Sciences

 This article discusses the positive benefits on well-being of adding music therapy to kangaroo care, which stresses the importance of skin to skin touch for preterm infants.

Study finds music therapy brings effective pain relief for sickle cell patients
2018
Type of reference
General information
Language
English
Source / Publisher
Medical Xpress

This is a summary of a study, which reveals promising findings for the application of improvisational music therapy in assuaging the multidimensional acute pain of adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). 

To the beat of music therapy at the MGH
2019
Type of reference
General information
Language
French
Source / Publisher
McGill University Health Centre

This article describes music therapy services offered at the Adult Psychiatry Department of the Montreal General Hospital.

The essential role of music therapy in medical assistance in dying
2020
Type of reference
General information
Author
Amy Clements-Cortes and Joyce Yip
Language
English
Source / Publisher
Oxford University Press Blog

This article describes work by music therapists to support patients in medically assisted dying, and discusses the role music therapy can play ofr individuals with these needs

The Impact of Group Drumming on Social-Emotional Behavior in Low-Income Children
2011
Type of reference
General information
Author
Ho, Ping; Tsao, Jennie; Bloch, Lian; Zeltze, Lonnie K
Language
English
Subtitle
English
Source / Publisher
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

This study assessed the effects of 12 weeks of school counselor-led drumming on social-emotional behavior in two fifth-grade intervention classrooms versus two standard education control classrooms. The weekly intervention integrated rhythmic and group counseling activities to build skills, such as emotion management, focus and listening. Participation in group drumming led to significant improvements in multiple domains of social-emotional behavior.

The role of songwriting in accepting visual impairments
2023
Type of reference
General information
Language
English
Source / Publisher
ArtEZ

This story explores the research of Jorien Habing, a master’s student in Music Therapy at the ArtEZ, University of the Arts in Netherlands, who is one of the few music therapists in the Netherlands working with people with visual impairments. She explains: "Music therapy plays a role in facilitating the acceptance process of blindness." For her final research, Jorien examined the role of songwriting to help individuals in this new target population adjust to living with visual impairment.