Resources & references

This study analyzed existing research on the safety and efficacy of neurologic music therapy for individuals with neurological disorders. Findings suggest benefits for quality of life, gait function, social behaviour, and communication, though results vary across studies. Evidence on safety remains limited, but the risk of severe or irreversible harm appears low.

Music therapist Max Terán explains what music therapy is, who can benefit, how it can help diverse populations, and how he became a music therapist.

This article explores the efficacy of music therapy interventions in palliative care and their therapeutic impact on physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Watch music therapist Becky Ickes describe how she uses music therapy to support children in a pediatric hospital setting.

Read a study investigating the impact of different music therapy session frequencies on stress, anxiety, depression and life satisfaction in psychiatric inpatients. Results found positive effects in both the lower frequency and the higher frequency groups, with a greater benefit on stress reduction for the higher frequency group.

People with advanced dementia are at increased risk of institutionalization and experiencing distress. This study uses existing research to demonstrate that music therapy can effectively help reduce agitation and improve well-being within interpersonal contexts in long-term care.

Read an article written by a music therapist on the ways that purposefully listening to music can help an individual. He describes his role as a music therapist and provides a case example of his work with an adult cancer patient in emotional processing.

Agitation in nursing home residents with dementia leads to a decrease in quality of life and an increase in psychotropic medication, patient distress, and caregiver burnout. This study shows that after six weeks, music therapy reduced agitation disruptiveness and prevented medication increases for persons with moderate to severe dementia.

Read a case study exploring the use of music therapy and, more specifically, therapeutic songwriting, on pain management during acute pain episodes in adolescent sickle cell disease patients. Results found that active music therapy interventions were more effective at managing pain than passive interventions, and that the song written during music therapy served as a coping resource by the teen outside of the therapeutic environment.

Read about music therapist Anne Lacourse's work at the Saint Raphaël Palliative Care Home and Day Center and watch a video (1m 6s) of her peforming a song composed by one of her clients.

Read an article exploring the feasibilty of incorporating mindful self-compassion into music therapy sessions for patients living with chronic pain. Results highlighted the need for future research to better interpret the results, but found a general increase in levels of pain acceptance following the treatment sessions.

Read a Cochrane review on the use of music interventions for acquired brain injury. Results indicate positive effects in motor and communication/speech rehabilitation, as well as on quality of life, and that interventions lead by a qualified music therapist were more effective.