Resources & references

This video (in Spanish) explains how music has been used therapeutically throughout history. It describes how music was used in ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages, the renaissance, the baroque period, and the modern age, when music therapy was established as a profession.

This article summarizes many ways in which music therapy is used in medical institutions. Testimonials from patients and interviews with therapists are featured. 
 

This video features the story of a young patient's healing from leukemia, who benefitted from music therapy during her hospital stay. Testimonials from the child, the parents, the music therapist and a peadiatrician are shown. 

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the efficacy of music therapy on pain and anxiety in children undergoing clinical procedures. Conclusion: Music is effective in reducing anxiety and pain in children undergoing medical and dental procedures; it can be considered an adjunctive therapy in clinical situations that produce pain or anxiety.

This systematic review indicates that music interventions compared to standard care may have beneficial effects on anxiety, depression, hope, pain, and fatigue in adults with cancer. The results of two trials suggest that music interventions may have a beneficial effect on anxiety in children with cancer. For several outcomes, music therapy interventions delivered by a trained music therapist led to consistent results across studies. The abstract is available in many languages. 

 Three therapists use instruments and voices — and parents — to reach kids "where they're at" and promote healing and a feeling of safety. Music therapists at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (Pascal Comeau, Julien Peyrin and Christelle Jacquet) sing and use instruments to help children get in touch with their emotions and find calm when undergoing procedures.

Pain is one of the most common and difficult symptoms to manage in adult burn patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This systematic review and meta-analysis provide an update of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) using music therapy or music medicine interventions with adult burn patients. It provides preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of music interventions this population. However, more high-quality RCTs are needed to establish guidelines.

 This video shows examples of music therapy sessions and perspectives from music therapists and the Children's Hospital in Boston, MA.

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of music therapy versus standard care alone or standard care in combination with other therapies for improving psychological, physiological and social outcomes among adult patients in any palliative care setting. Findings suggest that music therapy may be effective for helping to reduce pain in palliative care patients. 

 The Aberdeen Hospital's first music therapist, Kelsey MacDonald, plays an important role in improving the health and quality of life for the hospital patients and families

 Music therapy improves the health of premature babies and boosts parental bonding

  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.