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. 

This book presents some of the work from music therapists working in different approaches, in different countries, showing how valuable the inclusion of music therapy in palliative care has already proved to be. It is important for the dying, or those with terminal illness, that approaches are used which integrate the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of their being. 

A music therapist presents the use of Music Therapy in Substance Abuse Treatment. He starts by describing life experiences that led him to music therapy. Then, he goes on to discuss the 5 main clinical goals to use when working with this population (which work into the S.O.B.E.R. acronym). Suggested interventions and more are also covered.

Legacy work is the process of creatively expressing and documenting one's life, with the goal of leaving the legacy for future generations. Music therapists can offer unique opportunities to create legacy work due to the music medium that is the basis of their work. Three contrasting case studies, incorporating patient, family and therapist perspectives, are presented to illustrate music therapy legacy work.

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.

This thesis details a qualitative study on music therapy process resulting in the new concept of musico-relational competence. The project began with an exploration of music processes in the context of outpatient adult psychiatry. An ethnographic and ethnomusicological approach to the analysis of the video data (including music analysis) is used, focusing on the meaning making process of participants in the study.

This video (in Spanish) includes an interview of Dr. Mark Ettenberger who works as a music therapist in Colombia. He explains what music therapist is, who can benefit, how it can be applied, and what are its therapeutic benefits.

Les Impatients is an organization that helps people who have mental health problems, offering art-based services. With Dany Bouchard, a certified music therapist, and people participating in his group music therapy sessions, the reporter Alexandre Courteau explored this discipline that is still not very well known. After one hour of musical improvisation, some participants accepted to share how music therapy has changed their life.

The objective of this phenomenological research is to document the experience of music therapists practicing in mental health with adults receiving services in community and hospital settings in Quebec. Reflections, recommendations, research ideas, and the results of interviews are presented here. It is hoped that this work will help to foster the use of music therapy practices in mental health, an innovative and creative approach.

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.

In this news report, giants in their fields of music and science, soprano Renee Fleming and phyician and geneticist Francis Collins, are merging their knowledge to propel advancements in body and mind. Recent discoveries are shared. A recent international gathering of researchers, therapists and artists took stock of what is known and what is yet to be discovered. 

This article describes a music therapy program in a maximum security psychiatric state facility. Brief descriptions of the patient population, admission and discharge criteria, safety and security concerns, music therapy interventions, and behavioral strategies are given in order to provide a picture of the program and the concerns associated with this population.