The Cognitive Benefits of Music Therapy - Essay Example

Music Therapy Introduction Stress has been a catalyst to many disorders that many people are experiencing nowadays. These disorders may range from mental illnesses, panic, attacks, addictions, relationship breakup to physical pain. The greatest of all is the impacts from anxiety which has affected a large percentage of people in the United States, both adults and children. This is because anxiety leads to disorders, which are very common and may cause pervasive mental disorders. Therefore, one should seek help regarding stress so as to prevent breakdown and get direction in applying an effort that leads to genuine maturation. This help can be obtained in various ways that may include medication and use of music therapy. Music therapy is a common, cost effective way of dealing with such cases, and the therapists provide an excellent treatment through the use of music. Music Therapy Music is a universal language which for a long time has been present in initiating rites of passage as a way of expanding consciousness and healing. Music is a therapy used to an individual’s listening pleasure to relax the body and mind. For quite a long time, man has been using music as a form of healing and well being. A large number of people use music as a therapy to reduce stress and help them relax. Not all kinds of music can be used for healing, because certain types of music are believed to have a negative connotation. For instance, sensual music has been found to be a threat to the stability of the nation, while loud music can cause depression because of too much noise. Therefore, the choice of music during healing is very significant because it influences emotions, affects health, and can be used to enhance meditation and deep relaxation. Doctors and therapists have proposed music as an intervention in therapy for stress and stress related disorders. This is because some of the disorder have no clear, organic origin, and may be as a result of stressful life situations or significant events in a person’s life. In this case, music therapy can stimulate positive emotions, enhance a coping mechanism and enable recovery through the use of music. Music can also be used to restore, maintain and improve emotional and psychological wellbeing. In some other cases, music can influence physical behaviors and affect psychological response. It affects the mood of a person and the affective responses in individuals. One of the effective ways of making the most out of music therapy is by coming up with one’s own playlist. Since the playlist has songs that an individual love, they can work well especially when one feels the need to unwind from a stressful day. Music also works to affect the mood, and if one gets to listen to his or her favorite playlist, anger may dissolve and disappear arousing a happy mood. Music has proven effective especially in reaching people who are unreachable as some of the songs embody life experiences and may bring memories of courtship, weddings, or wartime among others. Creative music Therapy Creative music therapy is insistent on the use of little verbalization during therapy. When it was first developed, creative music therapy was aimed for children who were autistic, mentally and emotionally handicapped, emotionally and behaviorally disturbed and for those with learning disabilities (Wigram, Pederson & Bonde 126). It continues to emphasize on the improviser's skill to create potentials and possibilities within the patients by enabling them to play music and feel a sense of exploration in what they are doing. Analytical Music therapy Analytical music therapy involves a creative process in music making in order to draw unconscious experiences and feelings from clients in therapy, and treat them through an analytical model of work. One of the characteristics of analytical music therapy is that symbolic use of improvised music played either together by the music therapist and the patient or played by the patient alone. Mozart Effects Music of all styles is available to everyone at the push of a button. It is rare to meet people who do no like any music genre. Music develops an enhanced power that heals the body and strengthens the mind. This enhanced power is known as the Mozart effect. The Mozart effect increases the cognitive abilities when listening to music, as well as the intelligence within a short while. Mozart’s music is an example of a stimulus that changes how people feel, which, in turn, influences how they perform on tests of cognition. An experiment of Mozart on music and silence proves that there is an arousal level and mood improved after listening to music but not after sitting in silence. Another experiment on Mozart’s music focuses on lovers by testing their power of fidelity through serenades. The experiment consisted of sincere, heartfelt and seductive musical serenades. Through the musical serenade, the effect proved to explore deep emotions and passion within the human psyche, and it was found that the serenades were persuasive, seductive, and the victims became extremely credible (Fisher 18). Mozart effects also portrayed that listening to music may elevate performance on cognitive tasks relative to other stimuli. A cognitive test proves that cognitive abilities tend to be better after listening to Mozart music than when sited in the silence. This is because music produces an optimal level of adrenalin in the brain that causes an arousal. When the cognitive skills were tested on a piano, it was found out that a child could identify the notes played in any chord, and could judge the pitch of the instrument. Music and Healing Music and healing have remained to be partners throughout history. In the 19th Century, music was used as a form of brass bands for patients with identified mental disorders, including anxiety. For instance, a Greek philosopher by the name Plato believed that music influenced a person’s emotion and character, while King David in the bible is said to have cured an illness by playing on the harp (Menen 73). Menen continues to argue that, in Egypt, music was used to lessen the pain of women during childbirth. Therefore, music can heal in various ways that may also include emotional or spiritual healing, voice healing, and instrumental healing among others. Emotional or spiritual healing takes place when a patient is creating or listening to music. The music may inspire and touch the heart of a person, making him feel strengthened within. In voice singing, patients sing or improvise a song, and in the process of experiencing the various facets of the voice and music, the song resonates the body in relation to psyche or spirit. Finally, healing can be instrumental when a patient improvises instrumental music, and in the process resonates the body in relation to psyche and spirit. As we entered the 20th Century, many doctors began an actively use of music therapy program in the hospitals. Now, music as a form of medicine is employed in a variety of setting within the hospital, directed towards medical conditions and procedures. They employ medicine to influence the patient’s physical, mental, or emotional states before, during and after treatment. They do so because there is much power in music therapy and because of its ability to restore health, strengthen, and rejuvenate. Music and Stress Music is an effective way of reducing stress because it addresses the whole person simultaneously on physical, affective, cognitive and social levels. Therefore, the effects of music in reducing stress and anxiety are associated with various medical procedures that proved effective. An observation by researchers on the influences of music in managing stress found that the level of anxiety rises up in the absence of music. Music always has an effect on highly anxious people. Stimulative music may increase worry and emotionality while sedative music decreases those feelings. Music plays a significant role in improving mood and comforting patients in general hospitals hence reducing anxiety significantly in chronologically ill patients. Music reduces the length of labor, quickens patients in surgical recovery room, has few side effects and reduces pain suffered by patients (Wigram & Saperston 3). Studies have confirmed the successful applications of music to reduce anxiety during pregnancy. It helps to reduce pain responses during labor pain and elicits positive psychological responses. On dental procedure, studies show that music has also proven effective. Patients listening to music, especially those who have the choice of their music played are able to tolerate pain during dental procedures. Listening to music causes a significant reduction in heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones by significantly decreasing the need for pain relieving medications. In relation to this, chronic patients playing self-selected tape-recorded music are seen to have a reduction in the emotional experience on suffering and a reduction in the actual sensation of pain. In addition to the reduction of pain, music has been offered during chemotherapy as a form distraction to bring overall relief and in reducing nausea and vomiting. Conclusion The field of music therapy has grown so rapidly within a short period. It is likely that therapists have learned many skills during their education and training, hence; their skills have been useful in the clinical practices. Other factors influencing the development of music therapy include historical events, political and financial issues, health care approaches and culture among others. Thus, music therapy is a method used for treatment that many people have relied on for many centuries. People should also learn to embrace it because music is a noninvasive technique with few side effects and contradictions, no stigma and has evidence based outcomes. Work Cited Fisher, Burton D. Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte: Opera Classics Library Series. Boca Raton: Opera Classics Library Series [Imprint], 2005. Print. Menen, Rajendar. The miracle of music therapy. New Dehli: Pustak Mahal, 2005. Print. Wigram, Tony, and Bruce Saperston. The art and science of music therapy: a handbook. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1995. Print. Wigram, Tony, Inge Nygaard Pedersen, and Lars Ole Bonde. A comprehensive guide to music therapy theory, clinical practice, research, and training. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2002. Print. Read More