Resources & references

The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy to manage pain and anxiety during labor. The primary outcomes were measured by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Music therapy seems to have beneficial effects on pain intensity and anxiety during labor, especially for women giving birth for the first time. 

 Board Certified music therapy program at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Funded by Children's Miracle Network - Herskey. By manipulating the elements of a song, music therapists help control a patient's pain and anxiety, ease adjustment to the hospital setting and promote rehabilitation.

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a single music therapy session to reduce pain in palliative care patients. This research validates that a single music therapy intervention incorporating therapist-guided autogenic relaxation and live music was effective in lowering pain in palliative care patients.

 Presentation by Tanya Lavoie, certified music therapist, working at the Montreal Children's Hospital.

Pascal Comeau is part of the team of music therapists working at this hospital. With a variety of instruments, Pascal does much more than make music. By cleverly using soothing sounds, bright colors and fun shapes, he helps children who are admitted to the hospital for long periods of time or who have frequent appointments express their stress, fears and other feelings through music. For children with physical disabilities, playing an instrument and moving to the beat of the music can even improve their motor skills. In this video, find out more about the fascinating profession of music therapist!

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.

This book chapter describes the use of music therapy for pain management. Types of pain are discussed, along with needs and resources for this client population. The main goal of music therapy for pain management is clearly stated: “providing a nonpharmacological technique to decrease the patient’s pain perception”. Criterias for referral and assessment are provided, and an overview of both receptive and active methods and techniques, along with specific guidelines are enumerated. 

Cette étude rapporte que la musicothérapie (MT) pourrait être utilisée comme thérapie adjuvante en soins intensifs pédiatriques (SIP), pour l’anxiété et la gestion de la douleur. L’objectif de cette étude était d’examiner la perception de la musicothérapie par des parents d’enfants en SIP d’un hôpital universitaire. L’étude corrobore les potentiels positifs de la MT en SIP rapportés dans d’autres études:la musicothérapie pourrait être utilisée pour promouvoir le bien-être psychologique des parents et des enfants. 

The primary purpose of this study was to understand family members’ perceptions of music therapy experienced by a relative in palliative medicine or hospice. Patient self-reported scales and music therapist assessment of change were also investigated. Patients reported statistically significant improvement in pain, depression, distress, and mood scores. Family members of patients in palliative medicine and hospice settings reported an immediate positive impact of music therapy on the patient and on themselves.

This article explores how music therapy can serve as a self-care management resource for improving self-efficacy and mediating the relationship between vulnerability factors and health outcomes for patients with sickle cell disease. Accordingly, it is important for appropriate patient reported outcomes to be used within practice and research to capture these important domains and improve our understanding of how music therapy can help individuals with chronic pain achieve meaningful outcomes.

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.

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).